Kusari no Naruto
by Digitize27
Summary: Some monsters are born, others are created, some redeem themselves, others have to be redeemed; but the worst monsters are those that were never monsters to begin with. A child's mind is a fragile thing; it will only take so much. The question is, what does it take to put back together?
1. First Link

**So many disclaimers... but yeah, don't own Naruto yaddayadda**

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**Kusari no Naruto**

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The Kyuubi no Kitsune; the Nine-Tailed Fox, said to be the most powerful of the Bijuu and a living natural disaster in its own right. For ages, long back into time immemorial when the written word could be barely seen outside of nobility and the names of the current countries weren't even a thought, it had been heralded as a sign of oncoming destruction. It was known to be a mass of hatred and evil, its sheer presence cowering mortals it happened to come across as it cut swathes across the continent. Less knew of it as a mass of Chakra given shape and form, unstoppable in the same way all energy is due to is unending and unchanging nature.

However that very same fox, for all its power, currently found its residence in one Uzumaki Naruto, a young blonde-haired child from the Shinobi village of Konohagakure. Seven years ago it was released from its previous container under unknown circumstances to the rest of the village, only to almost immediately be sealed into a new-born; however not until it had cut a swathe of destruction across that very same village that would not leave their collective memory for generations.

Right now, said all-powerful Bijuu lay in the dank, dark confines of the eight-trigrams seal he was presently housed in. Great metal bars spanned his vision, leading into the more brightly lit room beyond, where he was sure that one day his container would stand before him. If he was like the last two, it would be one of the only talks they would have as they told him to stay silent within them like some sort of barking dog. That, or he would be like the one who kept him in servitude for even longer, demanding to use his power with nothing in return.

It wasn't to be mistaken though that the Kyuubi particularly cared about the idle whims of short-lived mortals, they would pass on and he would remain, as it always was and always would be. However for such a long lived creature, to be imprisoned for even a fraction of the time it had was not only insulting, but infuriating. Not only that, but to add insult to injury, it was human to do it; the weak, feeble creatures his progenitor held in such high regard.

A low growl briefly escaped the orange beast's lips, echoing off into the empty space of the seal behind him which, as far as he could tell, was nearly infinite. However, for once in its seven years of newly instated imprisonment the echoing noise was not met by utter and all-consuming silence, but an answer.

"Still as grumpy as ever baka fox?" Immediately one great, bloodshot read eye snapped open in the direction of the all too familiar voice. Sure enough, with her vivid red hair trailing down her back like a bloody waterfall, was his former container, stood tantalisingly close just outside the bars of the seal.

"**Kushina." **It was more of a growl than an actual attempt at speech, but it got the massive beast's point across.

"Huh, you look a lot smaller than I remember you, I guess Mina-kun did a good job with the sealing." That very same slitted eye narrowed dangerously as the Kyuubi snorted once, sending Kushina's hair fluttering from the hot exhalation.

"**You look a lot less dead than I remember you; I had hoped you would stay that way once you were impaled on my claw." **As if to punctuate its words it lifted up one massive forepaw, clicking its gleaming white claws together just behind the gated cage doors. However Kushina remained unperturbed, an easy-going grin splitting her face as she leant almost casually against the bars.

"Can't keep an Uzumaki down with a little thing like death; I'm going to protect my Sochi for as long as I can –'ttebane!" At that exclamation the Kyuubi seemed to unfurl; sudden, furry bulk appearing out of the shadows that had previously concealed it. It rose up to its current full height, which was irritatingly below his prime, and stared down at Kushina, bringing its full presence to bear. Unfortunately it was greatly diluted by the blasted seal so Kushina was still able to grin right back at him, unintimidated by the walking catastrophe.

"**And by protect..?" **The beast turned its head so it could bring a single great eye around to peer at Kushina through the bars. Despite his diminished size the Kyuubi's eye alone was still taller than the redheaded Uzumaki and Kushina was able to see herself in the reflection on its sclera as its massive slitted pupil narrowed.

"I'm going to make sure you can never hurt my Sochi –'ttebane!" The woman looked down at the ground for a moment, her features furrowing into a frown. "He's been hurt enough already." However, far from the reaction she was expecting the Kyuubi simply rose back up, a barking sound that could very well have been a laugh thundering through the seal.

"**You would be very welcome to try Uzumaki, but as you can see, this is not your seal." **To punctuate its booming words the lumbering creatures slammed both of its forepaws down on the indeterminable, shadowy ground within the cage, causing the entire seal to rumble. **"Here, I am very much free; your chains can't hold me down now. Step within these shadows and I will make your end both long and excruciating for the imprisonment you subjected me to." **Briefly letting a slight look of worry pass over her features Kushina quickly found her resolve and steel quickly entered her violet eyes.

"You have only half your power now –'ttebane! My chains were good enough to hold you before, they will be now; I'll make sure you'll never be able to directly hurt Naruto!" As she spoke Kushina began making long sweeping motions with her hands, drawing large black characters in the air that slowly snaked their way up and around her arm, down to her stomach. There, they created a facsimile of the seal written on her son's stomach which, upon completion, caused the small paper tag binding the bars of the cage together to flutter uselessly to the ground, revealing a spiral-esque lock.

"**You will regret this decision human." **Kushina simply grinned back defiantly as she twisted the spiralled seal on her stomach, an action mirrored by the actual lock.

"Bring it on fuzzball –'ttebane!"

* * *

Normally when the average villager of Konohagakue no Sato thought of Uzumaki Naruto, and it would be a fleeting thought at best, not the most pleasant things came to mind. However many would agree he was a rather hyperactive, ever-smiling, blonde nuisance of a child with a too-large mouth and an annoying, if not exuberant, voice. That was why they might not have recognised the sad child, slumped over on a swing in one of Konoha's parks, gently pushing himself back and forth with sluggish movements of his feet. Of course the sunflower-yellow, spiky hair and six whisker like marks on his cheeks gave him away, but the tears slowly leaking down his cheeks were a fairly unseen addition to the boy's visage.

It had been at a young age when Naruto had first figured out that, for whatever reason, he was not well liked by the village in general. Years of being blatantly ignored by adults, children playing with him one day only to run away from him the next or worse, call him names and pick on him, had taught him that well enough. However under the guidance of the nice old man he had recently come to realise was the Hokage, he persevered, doing his best to get people to accept him, or just acknowledge him.

Of course he was a child, and there was only so far a child's patience lasted before it snapped, so occasionally he would lash out with a prank. For a time they seemed to get him some recognition, even if it was in the form of infamy, but soon enough people simply returned to ignoring his various outbursts. It was getting to the point that Naruto was beginning to believe he would have to do something bigger, or more extravagant to get people to stop ignoring him. A quiet sigh escaped his lips as he pushed back off the ground, never taking his eyes off the ground.

It hadn't been a good day; this morning he had made his breakfast as usual, but the milk was horribly expired. It was strange because he had bought that very same milk just the day before, but all the same it had made him incredibly queasy. He had decided to make up for it by going out to the park to see if there were any kids who would play with him; he had struck no such luck. The first group of kids he had come across had offered to play Ninja with him, letting him hide first. It had been almost an hour before he realised they weren't even looking for him.

Then, on his way back to see what had happened he saw some bullies a few years older than him picking on a young girl with weird milky eyes. He had stood up to them only to get the snot beaten out of him, when he had managed to pick himself up the girl wasn't even there anymore; she must have run off like all the others. Finally, as if to top off the worst day in recent memory, he had gone to a store to buy some replacement clothes for the ones the bullies had ripped and torn up only to get thrown out; maybe not so much physically, but the shopkeeper had made how welcome he was there very obvious.

Another sigh escaped his lips at the same time a shudder passed through his body, the sun was beginning to set and it was getting cold; his ripped up clothes weren't exactly offering much protection. Still, he decided to just sit there for a while longer, at least until he could get the damn tears to stop falling down his cheeks.

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The Kyuubi grinned menacingly as its tails swatted away anther volley of chains from the surprisingly fast-moving former Kunoichi that was harassing him. However while he would never trade away his imposing size and intimidating presence, there was something to be said for having a smaller body, it made him lighter on his feet for one. He used that as he suddenly jumped into the air, shocking the Kunoichi who was a bit more used to seeing the Kyuubi more stationary, bound to the rock within her own seal. He span in mid-air, his tails whipping around his form like some kind of furry buzz-saw before crashing into the ground right over where Kushina stood.

For a moment his rapidly spinning body ground against the hastily erected dome of chains Kushina had brought up but while the Kyuubi was at only half-power at the moment, Kushina was a mere fragment of her former self and his overwhelming bulk and Chakra won out. However it had given Kushina enough time to dodge out of the way so instead he crashed into the seemingly indestructible ground. Suddenly there were hundreds of puffs of smoke around him as a plethora of Kushina's popped into existence about his body, all of them sending out tens of bright golden chains at him.

"**You're weak human!" **While the chains were numerous, they were weakened by the division of the original's Chakra and the Kyuubi was able to lift himself up from where he was being restrained without much difficulty. Lashing out with his tails, he caused a plethora of smoky clouds to erupt about him with each shadow clone's destruction. **"You can't restrain me anymore!" **The writhing beast managed to lift its head up high as little balls of black and white energy began to coalesce above his snout, forming a roiling purple mass of energy in the form of a huge ball… which quickly proceeded to shrink to the size of the average human fist.

Seeing what was happening the remaining Kushina clones all desperately tried to get away, some of them throwing up strong barriers with their chains. It was all for naught though as the Bijuu swallowed the massively condensed mass of unstable Chakra. A moment later it opened its mouth, releasing an enormous blast of energy in a near-constant stream that split through the air with a deafening ring. The seal shook from the tremors as the Kyuubi swung its head around, indiscriminately destroying any shadow clones in the vicinity and effortlessly tearing through the flimsy barriers.

When the bright white light finally died down the Fox grinned sadistically as it looked around for the original, even checking under its great paws to see if he stepped on her by accident. Slowly its tails swung behind it, flicking out every so often and sending great gales in random directions, hoping to upset the little bug from its hiding place. Its teeth, the size of two men, gleamed with saliva at the thought of the torture he would put his former container through.

Near the entrance of the cage Kushina suddenly sprang up from where she had been hiding, bolting towards the massive gates as fast as she was able. She had made a huge mistake coming into the seal; she had underestimated the Kyuubi massively and now not only her, but Naruto might pay for it. One arm hung limply at her side, burned and scorched to the point it was blackened and her hair, usually a neatly combed waterfall, was a frayed mess. A smile alighted on her lips as her foot crossed the threshold of the seal only to immediately twist into a look of pure horror and shock.

"**You lose human." **Shakily she looked down to see the long white claw emerging from her mid-section, an all too familiar scene for her. However she fought through the pain, shooting out two chains from her palms that vanished into the corridors of the seal outside the gate. The Kyuubi grunted in annoyance at that, not quite understanding what she had done, especially when the chains disconnected from her hands and snaked off into the darkness of the hallways. However as he dragged the defeated woman back into the dark and silence of the seal, the massive gated bars slamming shut in front of her due to the destruction of the temporary key on her stomach, she had a tired but victorious smile on her face.

"I… haven't lost yet." Blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth as the Kyuubi lifted her up, still impaled through the mid-section, so they were somewhat face-to-face. "You've lost, you just don't know it yet. Naruto will beat you and become the saviour Mina-chan wanted him to be." For a moment there was silence as the two simply stared at one another in the darkness of the seal, Kushina staring up defiantly despite the grievous wound.

"**It matters little, the boy will come to claim my Chakra only to lose himself in it; for now I have you entertain me." **At that Kushina grinned a bloody smile as her entire form started to fade away, the Chakra Minato had implanted into the seal running out.

"You're too late fuzzball, my time here's up and I've done all I can to make sure Naruto has every weapon he needs to defeat you." For a moment the Kyuubi frowned as he saw his retribution fade away in front of him before a far more malicious look overcame his features. Slowly, almost tauntingly, he brought one of his long, swaying tails up over his shoulder, pressing it into Kushina's chest. The woman could only look on in horror as her semi-translucent form suddenly gained substance again as she was infused with a massive quantity of Chakra from the fox.

"**I never gave you permission to die human." **Suddenly Kushina screamed as the Chakra began to burn at her; like the Kyuubi was filling her with boiling hot magma every nerve ending in her Chakra-constructed body screamed in pain.

"**There's too many things we have left to do." **

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Naruto groaned as he walked along the street; the sun had set a while ago and eventually his tears had dried up, forcing him to sluggishly get off the swing and start walking back to his small apartment. As he walked he clutched at his stomach, wondering just what that milk had done to him as it felt like there was a small battle going on in his guts. He waved it off, wiping his brow of the sweat that had begun to accumulate there before groaning again. He kept going with thoughts that at least there was a warm bed waiting for him at home, and in a few days the Hokage had promised to take him to some Ramen stand the man said he would like.

The thoughts of warm ramen filling his nose and mouth got him another few streets before he finally had enough and slumped over on a nearby wall, his vision swimming uncomfortably. He felt bile rising up his throat and forced himself to swallow it down, only making him turn a paler shade of white as his eyes began to drift. Finally, with a small whimper, he fell over onto his side, his world going dark. The last thing he felt was a warm burning in his stomach that slowly spread out through his body from the soles of his feet to the tips of his fingers.

Oddly enough though it only felt like a moment later when his eyes flickered back open and he groggily pulled himself to his feet. He did absently wonder when it had started raining though as he was definitely lying in some kind of puddle. Through bleary eyes he quickly worked out he was no longer on the street; in fact he seemed to be in some long corridor that stretched off infinitely in both directions; then again it was dark and he could only see a few feet in either direction so it probably wasn't infinite.

Confusion still wracking his mind he got up and began walking in the direction he felt wind coming from; he had explored Konoha's sewers for a bit as an inquisitive child and that was the method he always used to find his way out. However as he kept walking for another five minutes, never encountering so much as a bend in the corridor, he began to grow frightened, wondering just where he was and if he would ever get out. Thankfully his worries were somewhat put to rest as he finally emerged into a large, cavernous room that's ceiling stretched far up into the darkness and one wall was completely dominated by an enormous metal gate.

"Uh, Hello?" Naruto's voice was far more timid than he would have liked but in this oppressive, empty room, with what looked suspiciously like a prison gate, he couldn't help but feel nervous. Even now he felt warm gusts of air blowing past him, ruffling his tattered clothes, yet he got the idea that venturing past the thick bars would be a terrible idea. "Hello!?" He tried again, louder this time, only to hear his own voice echo through the darkness beyond the cage, with no answer for a good few seconds.

"Naruto?" Suddenly, from the darkness that seemed like a tangible wall just behind the bars, a single feminine hand emerged, gripping the cold metal. It was quickly followed by the rest of her as a tall, red-haired woman emerged from the bars, her violet eyes tearing up as she looked at the young boy who wasn't sure what to make of all this. "Is that you, my Sochi?" Naruto unconsciously took a step back, wondering what kind of messed up dream he had fallen into; seeing his recoil the woman frowned, taking another step only to meet some kind of invisible wall.

"W-Who are you?" The woman reached her hands out imploringly for a moment, a look of genuine longing in her eyes as she took in the young blonde-haired boy's reaction to her.

"Don't you recognise me Naruto, I'm your mother." Naruto took another step back, his mouth working uselessly like a fish as his breath caught in his throat. Finally though, as a tear was about to escape his eye his face became indignant.

"You're not my mom, the old man said she died, a hero of Konoha!" Almost instantly that warm, longing look on the woman's face melted away as if it had been nothing more than a thin mask, revealing a cruel smile and two slitted red eyes. The body dispersed into what looked like dust before flowing back into the seal where it was swallowed into the darkness. Instead, what emerged were those same vicious eyes, only scaled up a hundred times as Naruto felt an almost tangible weight settle over his shoulders.

"**Ah well, It couldn't last forever." **Naruto fell back, his breath quickening as the demon standing just a few meters away from him continued to bore into his small form with his gaze. **"Pitiful, this is the child they chose to be my container; at least the others could stand in my presence." **As if breaking the trance over him Naruto shook his head, managing to work himself onto his feet shakily, if nothing else to prove to whatever this creature was that he could.

"W-Wha…" Naruto shook his head again, trying to throw off the oppressive feeling falling across his body like layers of stiflingly hot snow. "What are you?" His answer was an enormous gust of wind that was likely the creature snorting derisively.

"**How original; why don't you ask something interesting like where you are?" **Naruto, surprisingly, found a scowl on his face at being so easily dismissed; he had enough of that from the villagers to get it from whatever this demon was.

"I asked you a question –'ttebayo!" One of the great red eyes beyond the gate quirked up in amusement at that before both lowered so they could better stare at Naruto's now less shaky form.

"**Oh, some backbone appears in the little human; very well, I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune." **At that Naruto blinked, his mind going blank for a few moments; this was the creature that ravaged and nearly destroyed Konoha on the day of his birth?

"B-But the Yondaime-" He was cut off by another large gust of warm breath that nearly bowled him over as the creature snorted again.

"**Could do little to stop a creature like me without sealing it into a human, and even then he could only do it halfway." **Naruto's mind was now working overtime; he knew little of Ninja arts like Fuuinjutsu, after all he would be learning those in a month's time when he joined the academy. However one thing became starkly obvious to him as he looked up at the creature.

"Sealed in a human?" Suddenly something new appeared from the shadows, a great long row of teeth in the shape of a malicious grin.

"**Specifically, you." **Suddenly so much made sense to Naruto; his birth date coinciding with the Kyuubi attack, the villagers' hatred of him.

"B-But why? Why do they hate me if you're you and I'm me?" Either his whisper to himself had gone unheard by the Bijuu or the fox hadn't deigned to answer. It was obvious enough to him that he wasn't the Kyuubi, after all he was standing in front of the creature itself right now. "I…I…" For a moment Naruto looked down at his feet; his face rushing through a flurry of emotions before finally settling on one of determination.

"I don't care!" Behind the bars the Kyuubi simply watched on impassively, still grinning that vicious smile. "I don't care if they hate me because if you; I'll just try harder and one day they'll recognise me; that's what the old man said!" There was silence as Naruto panted, feeling a little hoarse from his sudden bout of screaming up at the Kyuubi.

"**You are foolish child." **Naruto looked up in surprise as the Kyuubi finally broke the silence, his grin never wavering for a moment. **"Humans are weak, idiotic creatures slave to their baser emotions; they are full of hatred and greed and will never break this endless cycle of war they have embroiled themselves in. They will never accept you because you represent what they fear, what they hate…" **Despite the grin the Kyuubi's words were spoken forcefully, nearly making Naruto take a step back again. **"…their own weakness." **Naruto frowned up at the colossal mass of Chakra, his stomach wavering as its oppressive presence pressed down on him.

"Why would I believe anything you say; you're a demon!" Another gust of air met him, casing his flimsy clothes to sway in the artificial breeze.

"**A pathetic human title for beings beyond their comprehension; it matter little what I am, just that I accept it. As a mass of destruction and hatred I revel in what I do instead of masking it like you worthless humans. Power is the only thing that will get you anywhere in your brief, fleeting life, without it the acknowledgment you seek will forever be out of your grasp." **Suddenly the wide grin behind the bars grew even further as the massive beast inched its face forward until it was almost pressing at the bars. **"I can offer you that power." **Right now Naruto believed the saying 'deal with the devil' never seemed more appropriate.

"I don't need what you have to offer! I can become strong on my own –'ttebayo!" The Fox merely grunted as it pulled its face away, the grin disappearing into the shadows and the eyes slowly closing.

"**Believe what you will mortal, one day you will return for my power. Until that day struggle on with your pathetic life; you will come to see what I say holds truth." **With that the great eyes closed and the interior of the cage was once again nothing but darkness and shadow. Only the slow, steady breathing and the rushes of warm air showed the Kyuubi was still very much in there; a constant reminder of the burden Naruto was now aware of. However before Naruto could even say anything else he felt his world turning dark once again, his body fading away.

* * *

When his eyes opened again it was to the darkened street corner he had collapsed on; with a groan he flopped onto his knees before dragging himself to his feet. For a moment he wondered if all of that was just some strange hallucination brought on by bad milk, but as a shudder passed down his sine he somehow knew intrinsically that what he had seen was all too real. He had felt every one of the Kyuubi's warm breaths, heard the individual drips of water walking through the corridors and felt the overwhelming presence of the beast.

Still feeling groggy from what had just happened he stumbled out into the street, just so happening to bump right into the one lone drunk staggering back home. The man almost absently swatted Naruto aside in his stupor with the end of the bottle he held limply in one hand, some of the liquid sloshing out and over Naruto's shirt. The young blonde fell to the ground in a heap, clutching at his head as the man turned to look at him, to apologise or complain he would never find out as the man took one look at him, sneered and turned to go.

Naruto wasn't sure what it was right at that moment, maybe just a lot of pent up frustration, maybe the Kyuubi's words had stuck a chord with him, or it could have been the sliver of the beast's Chakra that had leaked into his body thanks to Kushina weakening the seal. Either way he suddenly had enough with all the villagers ignoring him like his presence was meaningless. So what if he contained some monster, he was still Uzumaki Naruto Kami damn it!

"Hey watch where you're going jerk –'ttebayo!" The drunkard froze at the fiery words, his head tilting to one side as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. Slowly, he turned back to the blonde who by now had picked himself up; he was obviously quite drunk as he was unsteady on his feet and his eyes weren't quite focusing.

"What was that Gaki?" His tone was dangerous but for once Naruto didn't care; just for once he didn't want to put up with it, he wanted people to acknowledge him.

"I said watch where you're going teme!" Suddenly the apparently drunk man's unfocused eyes narrowed, gaining a dangerous glint as he glared at the young boy who stared defiantly back.

"I'll give you another chance to apologise kid, before I get angry." He took a step forward and for a moment Naruto faltered, but suddenly there it was again, that warm feeling spreading out from his stomach; a burst of determination filled him and he squared up to the man who was over twice his size.

"You're the one who should apologize bakayaro!" The drunk nodded slowly, almost as if he was agreeing, a small chuckle escaping his lips that didn't sound all that warm. He turned, looking as though he were simply going to leave; that was why Naruto was completely unprepared as he suddenly snapped back around. Before he knew it something cracked against the side of his head and he was thrown of his feet to skid across the empty street. He couldn't even do anything before there was another blinding pain in his side as the man kicked him again.

"You should'a apologised kid." Naruto couldn't respond though, his face was scrunched up in pain, tears streaming down his face as he attempted to curl up into a ball to avoid the worst of the beating as the man continued to lash out at him. He felt so weak at that moment, so utterly helpless and the worst part was he knew that tomorrow he would wake up and nothing would have changed, the people would continue to ignore him, adults would keep hating him and he was powerless to stop it. Suddenly he realised that the man had stopped kicking him and he tentatively opened his eyes, hoping he was gone.

"W-Wha?" His eyes shot open as he looked up into the face of the man who was only moments ago stomping him into the ground. Only now he was lifted into the air, impaled through the body in various placed by gleaming gold chains. In shock Naruto realised the chains were coming out of his own body; trembling in confusion he turned back to look up at the man, only for his eyes to widen. There was an expression he had never really seen outside of the mirror on the man's face; it wasn't anger, or hate, or even indifference… it was fear.

The man was looking down at him with fear because he no longer had the power to harm him, because Naruto was the one in control. Slowly Naruto raised a shaking hand up towards the man only for him to flinch, his whole body shaking as blood dripped from his wounds. A long stream of it flowed down each of the chains and onto Naruto's hand, it was oddly warm and Naruto just looked at it for a moment as it flowed over his skin. The warmth was new and for a fleeting moment, remembering the Kyuubi's deception, he wondered if this was like the warmth of a mother's touch.

The man still being held in the air by glowing chains whimpered as the small blonde child finally looked up from staring at his blood covered hand. Except, it wasn't the same child that had looked down as Naruto now sported a deep, unnerving scowl. He raised his hand again only now there wasn't so much as a tremor; the man whose name he didn't even know died without a whimper as a final chain burst from his palm, impaling him right through the heart.

"Demon!" Naruto's head snapped around, catching sight of an elderly woman whose eyes were wide with horror and fear. She quickly turned to run away, to warn someone of what Naruto had just done only for a timid voice to call out behind her.

"Wait… please!" She slowed, only to regret that decision a moment later as in a single moment a thick red-stained chain ripped through her chest, holding her in place. A moment later Naruto appeared in front of her, looking up into her eyes with a cold, expressionless façade. "Sorry, I just wanted to see that look on your face again." With that the emotionless mask was replaced by a cruel smile as he moved his face a little closer to the now trembling woman. "Go on, call me a demon again."

Screaming was heard through the streets that night, complimented by a river of blood as unintentionally or no, Konoha created a real monster.


	2. Second link

**Well, I don't own Naruto and I, uh, *cough* don't own anything that Syun Matsuena owns... but why does that matter? *cough***

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Hiruzen's tired, aged eyes watched as a ring of smoke lazily drifted away from his pipe over towards the open window that looked out on the village he loved dearly. His hands were placed behind his back and he stood with such rigid poise he might have been mistaken for a sculpture at first glance. However the illusion was shattered when he let out a deep, hoarse sigh that really spoke of his age as a hand came up to pinch the bridge of his nose. A migraine was coming and the reason was one Uzumaki Naruto; or perhaps, the two civilians he had killed.

"They're howling for blood Hiruzen, you can't keep them at bay for much longer. Any attempt to sate them now and preserve what innocence the boy has left will just be a fool's errand." The lightest of frowns creased the aged man's already wrinkled features as one of his oldest friends, if not perhaps the closest, spoke up from behind him. He didn't turn though, still looking out over his village, framed by the setting sun lighting the sky up in brilliant hues of red and orange that made Hi no Kuni so famous.

"Don't think I don't know that Danzo." Another tired sigh escaped his lips; it was a bad day when he had begun to agree with the old war-hawk over matters concerning Naruto.

"The boy is obviously unstable; he can't remain among the normal populace as he is." Hiruzen's frown only deepened but he quickly calmed himself by taking another long drag from his pipe, a gift from his son before their relationship became so strained.

"And whose fault is that Danzo?" There was no accusation in the tone, more one of general hopelessness. "The boy has every right to be unbalanced what with everything that has been thrust upon his shoulders." He could hear the tap of Danzo's cane on the wooden floor of his office as the crippled man crossed the room to stand beside him, a rare sight as of the last few years.

"All the same; he is a risk to the village at large. This isn't just a case of an average Shinobi having emotional issues, the boy is a literal bomb waiting to go off. The Yondaime is no longer among us…" A pained expression crossed Hiruzen's features as he was reminded of yet another failure of his that he had made over his long life; some might say too long "…and we would not survive another attack from the beast." Slowly the sun slipped down behind the horizon, casting more and more of the village into shadow.

"So you would have me hand him over to you? To have his emotions stripped away just so he won't be a threat anymore?" He didn't need to turn to see Danzo's curt nod yet it still managed to elicit a small, frustrated sigh as Hiruzen closed his eyes for just a moment. Destroy one life to preserve thousands, even if that life was just a child that had already had far too large a burden placed upon him. Was this how the Yondaime had felt?

"It is the only safe option at this point and we both know this to be true; you had your chance and it turned into yet another debacle, unsettling the already delicate situation with the Uchiha. We cannot wait and hope this passes Hiruzen, the academy proved that well enough." The tapping started up again as Danzo walked out of the office, the old men separating once again as Danzo returned to the darkened shadows of Konoha, leaving Hiruzen standing in the light. He was ashamed to say it, but sometimes Hiruzen had wished it was the other way around; the expectation upon him were supposed to have been relieved nine years ago. "You will eventually have to agree with me Hiruzen; we both know it." And with that the sound of tapping faded away until once again Hiruzen was left with nothing but his thoughts and memories.

"I can't believe that; not yet." He turned up to the Hokage monument, drawing strength from the silent visages of his predecessors and the man who was supposed to take these burdens from his shoulders. "I couldn't do that to Minato." However as much as he told himself these things, an alternative did not present itself. It was true that Naruto needed to disappear from the public eye, preferably somewhere where he couldn't hurt the people around him. He would need to be with people that could understand his situation and could contain him if worst came to worst. However he couldn't just neglect the fact the boy was a Jinchuuriki; he would eventually need to be trained.

"Hokage-sama." A lone ANBU dropped from the ceiling, seemingly out of the shadows themselves and without even a whisper of a sound. Hiruzen didn't turn to face the masked Shinobi but they still got the message to continue. "Saru's squad has returned to the village ahead of schedule; do you wish me to re-deploy them as soon as possible?" At that Hiruzen wanted to throw his head in his hands; if there was any contender for something that gave him almost as many troubles as Naruto it would be that damn squad. However just as Hiruzen was about to acquiesce to the ANBU's suggestion his hand paused in mid-air, a slight glint entering newly revitalised eyes.

"Actually… no; bring them to my office as soon as possible." He couldn't see it behind the emotionless porcelain mask but the Hokage was sure the ANBU had his eyebrow raised. There was no questioning the village leader's orders though and the only visible response he received was a slight tilt of the head before the ANBU was gone as quickly and as silently as he entered. Slowly Hiruzen nodded his head just once; this may just work.

* * *

Naruto felt particularly good as he walked down the central road in Konoha, shown by the toothy grin that rested on his features. As he passed, people gave him an incredibly wide berth, some even walking off in different directions when they saw him. Some turned away, others whispered to people close to them; all of them had looks of fear in their eyes. This is what Naruto had wanted; not their respect, not their love, but their acknowledgement; he finally had it through simple fear. It may have had to do with the fact that as he walked, long golden chains flickered out behind him, tipped by vicious serrated blades that almost looked like kunai. Some swayed behind him like tails, others reared up over his shoulders like cobras poised to strike; all of them looked menacing.

Then again he might have been smiling because he couldn't help but replay a particularly funny memory over and over again. Around a week ago the Hokage had told him he would be entering the academy and to be honest Naruto relished the idea. It seemed perfect; go in, learn how to kill people and become stronger, walk out and do those things. The reality was far from that though.

* * *

_Naruto was bored; very bored… so bored that chains started to subconsciously appear from his shoulders, looking around as though they were living entities of their own. On the bright side it really seemed to freak out the mousy-haired kid to his left; way to his left, nobody wanted to sit next to the demented-looking 'freak' after all. Not after he had thrown a boy he had later found was called Kiba across the room and nearly through a wall. Naruto wasn't sure why they had looked at him strangely; the boy had made fun of his height, saying he didn't look strong and the only thing an Inuzuka could respect was strength and dominance. Naruto had just educated the boy that appearances can be deceiving. _

_He wonder if Kiba respected him now; or at least when the kid woke up from unconsciousness. _

_Right now he and the rest of the new academy entrants were sitting in a tiered classroom listening to a lecture from the man who would be their instructor for the next year or two. Naruto had tuned him out half an hour ago when he had started talking about some flaming will or something._

_However his ears twitched when he finally heard something interesting; his chains twitched too, but that only seemed to make people shuffle even further away from him. The instructor smiled brightly as he looked around the room, everywhere but at Naruto of course, and clapped his hands together. The very same man only minutes ago had asked Naruto to put away his chains because it was 'unnerving' the other children. Naruto had responded by pinning the man to the wall; he was a little more accepting of the golden attachments after that. In Naruto's opinion he was lucky he had only pierced him through the clothes._

_Huh… maybe _that _was why the other kids gave him a wide berth? _

"_Alright kids, as a fun exercise to ingratiate you to academy life we're going out to the training fields out back to have a few test spars; just to see where you guys are at." He quickly answered a few questions from some of the civilian children, mostly him settling their worries that they had no prior training, before leading the class out to the back of the academy. There, a small ring was set up; it was just a simple rope laid out in a circle to mark a boundary but that was all they really needed for academy students. After all they didn't know any devastating or landscape-altering Jutsu… yet. _

"_Okay, would anybody like to volunteer for the first spar?" When he got no takers initially he just smiled warmly. "No need to be shy; it's all friendly here." Slowly one of the boys near the front of the crowd raised their hand, a dark-haired boy with bright black eyes. "Ahh Sasuke, perfect." The boy smiled timidly before stepping into the ring; the chuunin turned back to the crowd of students only to pale as he saw another hand raised up. "Ah, aha, anybody like to spar with Sasuke?" The hand stayed up but the chuunin managed to keep his eyes anywhere but on it, even when a gold chain snaked up into the air to make the child more visible. "Anybody at all?" Unfortunately for him at that moment Naruto got tired of waiting and simply stepped through the crowd._

"_O-Okay then, Naruto against Sasuke." The Instructor's eyes nervously glanced between the two kids; Naruto didn't even have his chains out but something about his expression; the longing for the fight… it was unsettling. "First we make the seal of confrontation; this is an important part of traditional Shinobi sparring; it acknowledges that you are equals." A quiet snort came from Naruto but the instructor ignored it, showing them both the hand sign. "Afterwards you will make the seal of reconciliation, to show that there are no hard feelings after the spar is over." Again the chuunin showed them the seal before finally stepping back._

"_Okay, on my signal." He raised his arm and you could just feel the tension in the air from the group of silent students. "Hajime!" Sasuke suddenly bolted forward; as an Uchiha he had been receiving training for much of his young life so naturally he felt as though he had an edge over most kids, especially in Taijutsu. Of course Naruto had no intention of only sticking to Taijutsu, where he was sure his scrawnier and smaller stature would be an immediate disadvantage. That was why Sasuke was shocked as a bright gold chain suddenly lashed out at him from Naruto's stomach, all without the blonde moving an inch. _

_It struck him just beneath he ribs, sending his skidding backwards on his ass with the breath knocked out of him. However Naruto didn't do it hard enough to knock him out of the ring; that would be too short, it wouldn't be fun enough. Sasuke's eyes immediately widened as he saw another serrated chain flying at him, forcing him to roll to the side. Of course the chain simply diverted course, looping around Sasuke's ankle before picking the boy up of the ground and dangling him there by the leg. _

"_Naruto stop this; it's supposed to be a Taijutsu match only!" Naruto snorted loudly as the chain whipped the young dark-haired boy across the arena, slamming him painfully into the ground before picking him back up again, dragging his face along the ground while he was at it._

"_Why would I limit myself like that? I would only get beaten." For a moment his spiky hair fell across his eyes, shadowing them as his head tilted forward, his hands clenching into fists. "I refuse to lose anymore." Suddenly the chain holding Sasuke whipped up, sending the boy flying into the air; the instructor moved to catch him but the chains were just a construct of Chakra and were as light as Naruto wanted them to be; so in other words they were faster. On shot out from his palm, slicing through the air before impaling the poor Uchiha right through the thigh, painfully pulling him back to the ground. Naruto grinned at the scream he had managed pulled out of the young boy while their classmates looked on, half terrified and half disgusted. _

_He would have slammed the boy into the ground again had the chuunin not just got beneath him, catching his student and quickly pulling the chain out of his leg. He took consolation from the second scream Sasuke gave; he had nothing personal against the boy, he didn't even know him before today, but he was unlucky enough to have volunteered. Giving the blonde a quick glare the chuunin quickly rushed Sasuke off in the direction of the hospital, but not before Naruto called after him._

"_But Sensei; I thought we were supposed to make the seal of reconciliation!" However the chuunin was already gone, leaving a smirking Naruto alone with the rest of the class who he turned to see staring at him with varying levels of fear and unease. "What?" They all flinched making him grin again as he walked right past them._

_He supposed the academy wasn't so boring after all. _

* * *

He still had that smile on his face as he walked towards the training grounds, not even realising he had gotten there before stepping over into the boundary into the large grassy clearing. After the incident with the Uchiha he had been 'temporarily' pulled from the academy; the Hokage had told him he was just unsuited to learning there. It was only recently though that he had been told there was now an alternative, which was why he was here. He leaned against a tree as he waited for whoever was supposed to turn up, watching the sun begin to descend below the horizon in the distance.

However suddenly he dived forward, eyes wide, as a line of kunai that would have ran the length of his body thudded into the tree trunk he had just been resting against. Breathing suddenly fast and shallow he forced a few chains out of his body; it was just in time to swat away another volley of the quick, if not silent Ninja tools.

"Hmm, better than I thought; I honestly wasn't expecting him to make it past the first volley." The calm voice sounded out from seemingly all around Naruto, making his head dart about nervously before he forced that expression away and replaced it with a deep scowl.

"Who's there?!" A short laugh from a different, more nasally voice was his answer making Naruto growl at how casual his attackers were being.

"Ah, whose turn is it now then? Nezumi, perhaps you want a shot?" There was rustling in the trees but Naruto couldn't tell from where and in the still darkening conditions of the evening his visibility was dropping by the second. Suddenly, reacting on nothing more than instinct he threw himself forward, sending a volley of chains bursting from his back. There was the clang of metal on metal and he felt resistance through his connection with the Chakra constructs but when he rolled to his feet in a low crouch there was nobody behind him.

Again though a sort of sixth sense told him there was someone behind him so this time he span, the chains around him whipping out wildly. This time, through the sparks created between his weapon and his opponents, he caught a glimpse of a pale white mask and long, dark hair in a pony-tail. However they quickly vanished in a flicker of motion far too fast for him to keep up with, leaving him alone again in a seemingly empty training ground. However to his immense shock he noticed that a few links on one of his chains were almost completely severed through.

True the lighter and therefore faster his chains were the weaker they became, but he had never even seen so much as a scratch on them before when he was testing them out by sheering through solid rock. The sight made him even more nervous despite the cold scowl he wore; although a quick burst of Chakra, not that Naruto knew it was Chakra, through the chains healed them up. Doing so was rather draining though and while Naruto was generally considered quite lively he was not a bottomless well of energy.

"Ah ah, Kuma's turn, Kuma's turn!" A third voice, much livelier, louder and more childish than the first, made itself known as Naruto's eyes went wide. What could only be described as a roughly human-shaped beast suddenly rushed out of the surrounding shrubbery. "Kuma kick!" It was so fast that Naruto only briefly caught a glimpse of rather light blue hair and tan skin atop coils upon coils of muscle before he saw nothing but stars, then just nothing at all. There was the pain though; oh yes he still felt the pain.

"Uh, did Kuma break him?"

* * *

Dizzying pain; that was what the young blonde felt as his faculties began to return to him. It was a confusing feeling; not one he hadn't felt before but given the circumstances he had fallen unconscious in, not one he had expected to feel again. For a moment he heard a roaring laughter that sounded as though it was echoing down a long corridor before his head stopped swimming and she slowly faded back into reality.

"-stand the hype about the kid; other than the chains I didn't see anything all that special." He remembered that voice; it was the second one he had heard in the clearing; what was going on?

"Oh I don't know; there was something to be said about the boy's reflexes. He must have a good set of ears on him at least." That wad the first voice; calmer and more disciplined than the other but he still spoke with a trace of amusement. Naruto was seriously confused; he had been attacked and yet wasn't dead. Did his attackers want him alive for some reason?

"His chains… were sharp." A new voice, this one definitely a woman's; however it was low and quiet and whoever it belonged to certainly took their time with their words. Naruto wanted to crack an eye open to see what was going on but he didn't want to let them know he was awake.

"Oh ho, that's high praise from you Nezumi-chan; don't you think Kuma?" There was the second voice again; slowly Naruto worked a chain out through his back, digging it into the earth; he wanted to be prepared. These people were strong; stronger than anybody he had ever met before, at least it felt that way to the blonde.

"Ah; Kuma is sorry for breaking him." He couldn't help it; hearing that loud, child-like voice made a single shudder run down Naruto's back. The chain he was extending though was almost-

"Don't worry about it too much big guy; in fact, he's awake right now." Suddenly Naruto sprang to his feet at being caught, pelting off in a random direction as fast as his small legs could carry him. At the same time his chain burst through the ground branching off into as many smaller chains as he could make that all randomly shot out in every direction like shrapnel. It was for naught though as he hadn't taken three steps before he was grabbed by the back of his shirt by a slender but strong hand and quickly hoisted into the air.

"Please… don't." For just a moment Naruto's legs continued to pump desperately before he realised he had been caught. Immediately Naruto scowled; crushing the helpless feeling within him as he prepared to launch as many chains as he could and turn the person holding him into a pincushion. He would have too had they not placed a sword's edge dangerously close to his throat, causing him to freeze in place. "Please…don't." This time it was said just a little more forcefully, even if it was in that same dull, husky tone. His body immediately went limp in the woman's hand; he didn't even dare to gulp the blade was so close to his throat.

"Now now Nezumi-san, there's no need to be so forceful with the boy." Naruto was turned around, still held by his shirt, and for the first time got a good look at his 'attackers'. It was only for a moment though as hearing the kind but stern words the woman had almost immediately dropped him.

"Okay… Saru-Taichou." Naruto winced as he hit the ground before looking back up; wary for what he had seen in that brief instant. Sure enough when he saw his kidnappers they bore the white porcelain masks and slate grey body armour of the ANBU, Konoha's watchful protectors that he would sometimes see darting about rooftops late at night. The one who stood slightly in front of the others, wearing a vaguely monkey-esque mask done in red spoke in a voice that immediately identified him as this 'Saru-Taichou'.

"Well aren't you a quiet one; got a bit of a bite though don't you?" There was that same irritating hint of amusement his voice always seemed to carry; although it seemed warranted as the man was somehow holding all of the chains Naruto had launched out… all of them.

"What do you want with me?" The blonde growled out, not bothering to get up off the ground; he couldn't outrun these people anyway. As much as it pained him to his core to admit even to himself, he was helpless in front of them.

"Ooh! Ooh! Kuma wants to say! Kuma wants to say!" The man Naruto had been doing his best to try and ignore, if he could even me called a man, started bouncing up and down on the spot. Sure enough the blue markings on his mask denoted him as a bear and Naruto couldn't have thought of a more fitting animal to represent the mountain of a man. He was all tanned muscle; so much so that it didn't even look like he would fit into one of the dark cloaks the other ANBU wore. The blonde swore if he jumped a little higher he was going to start making tremors in the ground. However the last man, a short man who might have been mistaken for a child had it not been for his voice, calmed him down.

"Maybe you should leave this one up to us Kuma; you're explanations tend to get a bit…" He genuinely seemed to think of the right word to say as the brute of a man stared at him with a cocked head like some sort of dog. "…ah, boisterous." The massive, light blue-haired man just nodded quickly before turning away; Naruto could almost feel the dumb expression on his face. The leader of the three men, Naruto still couldn't see the woman standing just behind him, seemed amused by the whole interaction before turning to Naruto.

"Yes well, anyway, as Kuma-san was trying to say-" Saru tried to say but was quickly cut off by Naruto who hadn't stopped glaring at the trio since they had begun talking.

"Why didn't you kill me?" They all paused at that before suddenly the man Naruto assumed was Tako by process of elimination began laughing.

"Kill you? What gave you that idea?" Naruto blinked before tensing up as the man suddenly approached him, coming down to a crouch right in front of him so that Naruto could pick out every abstract line on his mask. Suddenly his hand whipped out behind him; just as Naruto was about to try and spear him through the chest though it came back around holding… an ANBU uniform? "This was your initiation kid; welcome to the corp." Naruto could only blink dumbly as he stared at the simple black clothing atop the standard grey armour, seemingly made in his size.

"W-What?" That was the limits of Naruto's eloquence at that moment as he lamely stared at the uniform and the blue bird-esque mask lying on top. He quickly recovered though, his scowl returning as he glared back at Tako, chains beginning to writhe out of his wrists menacingly. "Who would I want to join ANBU; I'm not even a Shinobi yet." Tako didn't give him an answer he was expecting, instead the short man just chuckled, reaching forward and ruffling Naruto's hair before the blonde could even react.

"Who said anything about you 'wanting to' Gaki, or should I call you Karasu?" Crow? Now that Naruto looked at the mask it did bear somewhat of a resemblance to the carrion bird. Slowly the chains retracted and Naruto got to his feet, looking around at the four ANBU members. He wasn't sure how, call it some childish intuition, or maybe a killer's perspective, but each one of them looked poised to kill him at a moment's notice; yet their postures were calm and relaxed.

"So what? I join ANBU and just disappear; I'm guessing that is why the old man sent me here in the first place?" Now that he actually looked, they had never actually left the clearing he had been ambushed in. Saru answered him with an easy, amused tone; he didn't seem to take much seriously.

"Pretty much; Hokage-Sama believed that ANBU would provide and outlet for you more, unsavoury tendencies. Not to mention you have killed two civilians, injured a clan child and attacked a full squad of ANBU." Naruto snorted indignantly at that but kept his eyes narrowed all the same. "Under normal circumstances you would be lucky to see the outside of a prison cell for the rest of your life. As it is you have special circumstances." Naruto smirked at that; knowing what he meant.

"I contain the Kyuubi." Without missing a beat or showing any surprise, or even any real care, the masked Taichou simply nodded. The Hokage had theorised some kind of interaction with the beast might have triggered Naruto's sudden lapse in personality.

"Yes, so now you will be trained by us, live with us, eat with us and go on missions with us either until you are deemed safe to re-enter the normal Shinobi corp. or you die in the line of duty." The mask hid all of the man's features but Naruto could still tell he was smiling at the blonde. "Welcome to ANBU Karasu-Kohai." Naruto stared at the three men in front of him, taking in their calm but dangerous posture, the arms that looked like they could snap his body like a chopstick on Kuma and the slight gleam of metal he could see in Tako's sleeves. These men and women were trained killers, little more than dogs for the village to release on their enemies.

Sounded like fun.

"When do I start?" The four ANBU smiled lightly behind their masks.

* * *

Naruto sat in the small, spartan room he had been provided in the large apartment complex that apparently all ANBU operatives shared. It would seem that extended periods in what they colloquially called 'the corp.' tended to bring out some stranger parts of their personalities and most weren't the most stable types. Well in that respect Naruto just blended right in, although he did stand out as being exceptionally short. However for some reason that just made people look at him warily; Konoha had a long history of child prodigies and the dangerous people they could become.

Right now he was sitting on a hammock made out of the thinnest chains he could make; the bed in his room was less comfortable than what he was used to and this provided good training so his teammates actually encouraged it. He could do nothing about the slight glow that his chains gave off so it would be useless on a covert mission but that didn't bother him too much. Then again that might be because he didn't understand what the word 'covert' meant, but he was sure he'd find out eventually.

For the last few days his so-called squad mates, consisting of the group that had kidnapped him in the first place, had been running him through various drills to gauge his skill levels. It was tough and by the end he was battered and covered in cuts but at the same time he was oddly excited being surrounded by new, strong opponents to test himself by. They would make him stronger because they in turn were incredibly strong; they had proven that enough.

He stared down at the mask in his hands again; he was told that once he put it on it basically stayed on. Uzumaki Naruto would cease to exist and in his place Karasu would walk away into the world; he grinned at that, it was fine by him. The uniform was comfortable and warm even if the new tattoo he now sported on his right shoulder stung a little. The people around him were strong and would be taking him on missions where he could test himself, where emotions like empathy meant little and the only thing of importance was the next target.

In ANBU he was just another monster among monsters.

Karasu was home.


	3. Third Link

**I d-d-don't own N-Naruto okay? G-Get off my b-b-back!**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Naruto grinned like shark as he back-flipped across a small training field, chains erupting from his body to deflect the sword slashes of his opponent. A few shot into the ground, anchoring him and allowing him to use the newfound leverage to suddenly plummet towards the earth. Over the past few months using his chains had become practically second nature; no matter how many he produced they were like an extension of his body, another arm or leg. It helped that whenever he used them there was a strange sense of familiarity he couldn't place; it was like he had been using them his entire life.

It had been non-stop training for him amongst his teammates as they quickly brought him up to a suitable level for the missions they would be taking. Mostly that involved stamina, strength and speed training; however playing to his strength they also spent a great deal of time working with his chains. He had quickly found the Chakra constructs to be almost infinite in their versatility and was still just now working to expand what he knew about them. He would spend hours thickening them, sharpening them, making them as thin as he could and seeing just how long he could make one before he succumbed to pure Chakra exhaustion. The answer? Very, very long; he had a _lot _of Chakra.

On that note though, his abundance of the fundamental Shinobi energy also proved an annoyance as an important factor for every ANBU operative is stealth. Right now Naruto was a literal beacon for any potential sensors; his so-called comrades on the other had could suppress their Chakra so it appeared as nothing more than a civilians. When he asked why they didn't suppress it completely they told him that a spot with no Chakra was just as suspicious to a sensor as one with an abundance. So another large swathe of his training was getting him to reduce his Chakra levels, or at least how they appeared, to less blinding levels.

He darted back, his body spinning and causing his chains to spin about him; however whereas a few months ago they would have flailed randomly, they now moved in synch with his body, creating a thin, buzzsaw-like effect. There was the grinding sound of metal clashing and suddenly Naruto was jerked to the side as his chains became tangled up around the Naginata his sparring partner had produced. His eyes narrowed as he dodged back, creating two chains that just sat in the palm of his hands like kunai so that he could continue to bat away his attacker's sword swipes as his chains moved to disentangle themselves.

One major downside he had found to his chains was that they were enormously Chakra draining, however not in the conventional sense. When outside his body they only radiated, or leaked, a small amount of Chakra and as his control improved that amount decreased. Most of the time he could retract them and not feel even the slightest change to his reserves. However if he had even a section of the dense chains cut off from him completely, or he forcefully dissipated them, he would feel the massive drop in his reserves almost instantly. It wasn't often a problem as the chains themselves were tough, but that never seemed to stop his Kenjutsu trainer.

Nezumi was the most enigmatic of his new squad-mates; Saru was a mystery but only because he said strange, sagely things all the time. Naruto was lucky if he heard Nezumi say more than a sentence in one day. However her skill with weapons of every kind was undeniable; even a common wooden spoon became a deadly tool in her hands. She favoured the long, simple-looking katana she always carried around though, although Naruto couldn't figure out why. The blade just looked so plain, with a simple linen cloth wrapped around where the hilt would be and not even a tsuba for decoration. Then again it was longer than he was tall and Nezumi could swing it faster than he could even follow if she wanted so who was he to complain?

Again he leaned back as a line of white appeared across his vision and for a rare moment he thought he saw an opening in Nezumi's guard. Immediately he rolled forward, the Chains already in his hands extending as he forced the individual links to become rigid so it was almost like he was holding a sword. He lunged forward, aiming for her hip, but it was for naught; in a fluid motion Nezumi circled around him, long dark hair in her trademark pony-tail whipping out as she cleanly severed through the chains emerging from Naruto's back.

The blonde gasped in shock as his body reeled at the sudden loss of Chakra; he stumbled but didn't collapse as he might have a few months ago. However he couldn't really do much else, there were a lot of chains wrapped around that damn Naginata and Nezumi had severed them as close to his body as she could with the opening he unwittingly presented her. Slowly he sank to a knee and panted heavily, feeling a surge of anger as Nezumi returned her blade to her back.

These 'sparring sessions' excited and infuriated the young chain-wielder because while they provided strong opponents and he could feel himself in turn becoming stronger, they confused him. At the end he would always be at their mercy yet they let him live; why? He was weaker than them obviously; they could beat him with almost piteous ease and yet he continued to breathe.

"Why?" Nezumi turned to look at him, her mouse-patterned mask tilting quizzically even though it showed no emotion.

"It… is a spar." The woman had a very meticulous manner of speech, as if she was measuring every word; Naruto just figured she was a bit socially stunted… but who was he to talk?

"What does that mean?!" Even after all this time he hadn't figured it out; it just went against everything he had told himself. However even as he watched Nezumi came over and crouched down in front of him, the small black dots of her mask's eye holes staring at him for a long few moments.

"I don't… know." Naruto blinked, feeling the rest of his energy leave him suddenly and letting himself fall back onto his ass, supported by his arms behind him. "But… isn't it… fun?" The woman seemed to be genuinely questioning him, the thin pink ribbon tying her hair up fluttering in the breeze. Finally Naruto grunted unintelligibly before pushing himself to his feet; the rest of their squad had just entered the clearing.

"Now what?" Suddenly Saru disappeared from where they were emerging from the treeline and Naruto felt a sharp, acute pain on the back of his head.

"Now what _Taichou._" The tall man reappeared in front of a grumbling Naruto and the blonde could just tell a smug smile was hidden behind that monkey mask. There was a pregnant pause before Naruto muttered out what he wanted to hear, filled with scathing sarcasm.

"Now what… Taichou." The man just nodded once as he stroked the bottom of his mask thoughtfully.

"You should be happier Kouhai, after all I came to tell you we finally have our first mission." Naruto's head shot up so fast there was almost an audible crack.

"Really?" A shark-like grin began to grow behind his mask however Saru was quick to put a damper on it as he was quickly clipped around the ear again.

"Really _Taichou." _Another long pause followed as Naruto stared at the ground so hard one might almost expect it to burst into flame.

"Really… Taichou?" Saru nodded again before waving his hand dismissively.

"I wouldn't get too excited; it's nothing too serious, just a domestic dispute. However depending on your performance tonight you might be going outside the village next time." Naruto didn't risk saying anything that time, just nodding stiffly; Saru was a dangerous man and his hand could move like a viper… more so than even Naruto's chains. He was the man that kept this rag-tag squad functioning and for that he may, just have perhaps, almost squeezed a tiny bit of respect from the blonde.

"Yay, Kuma will try not to kill anyone this time!" After all, anyone that could reign in _that _beast was worthy of some praise. He ignored Kuma's happy clapping though and turned back to his commanding officer, his toothy grin returning slightly.

"So… Taichou, a domestic dispute?" He could almost feel the man's smile in return.

* * *

Hana Inuzuka was not exactly having the best of days; today was the first time the head vet had allowed her to perform surgery on one of the older, retired Ninken. The poor mutt had died on the operating table with Hana's hand still inside it. For a fourteen year-old girl that was traumatic in of itself but Hana was an Inuzuka, she was made of tougher stuff. However not even minutes later she had been called to the academy to pick up her brother; _that _mutt had apparently been causing a ruckus and was sent home. Their mother was out on a mission with Kuromaru and Kami knew where their father was so it was up to the recently promoted chuunin to pick him up.

Generally around Konoha Hana was known as that Inuzuka that wasn't inherently wild, the responsible one; hell, she even lacked the wild hair that distinguished them. However that was just the surface; anybody who knew her at all knew she could be every bit her mother's daughter. Apparently though Emi Inuzuka forgot that little fact when she walked over to the clan heir and made fun of her for having her hair dyed bright orange a few days prior. It wasn't her damn fault that her teammates thought they had a sense of humour and her Sensei was a lazy idiot.

She quickly reminded Emi of that fact at the same moment she introduced her fist to the annoying girl's nose. Of course, as any scuffle in the Inuzuka clan compound inevitably ended up, the two were eventually found rolling around on the ground, tugging at clothes and generally trying to claw each other's eyes out. That usually wouldn't have been so bad, however Hana's Ninken had seen what was going on and decided to join the fray, only they weren't so inclined to hold back at somebody attacking their master. Naturally Emi's wasn't too far behind and it just deteriorated from there.

* * *

"You call this a domestic dispute?" Naruto felt an evil presence rise up behind him and caught himself quickly. "Taichou?" Suddenly the presence vanished and Saru appeared alongside him on the branch above the Inuzuka compound wall a moment later.

"Well, they are fighting, and we are within the village; so what do you think Kouhai?" Naruto's eye twitched once; he hated being called that. However as he looked over what could only be described as a full on fight-zone he could hardly dwindle it to a mere 'dispute'; however it did get his adrenaline pumping quite furiously.

"Ooh, Kuma can stop them!" The brute of a man wasn't too far behind, his bulk causing the branch to bend threateningly.

"Ah… no." On the other hand Nezumi was like a feather, her presence barely felt at all as she alighted on the other side of the tree with the grace her codename would suggest.

"Aha, I think Nezumi-Chan is right Kuma; your 'solutions' tend to end up with a lot of people dead." Tako was the last to join them, the short man appearing underneath Nezumi's branch upside down in a crouch, his mask not hiding where his eyes were going at all. That was something Naruto was quick to discover about the short ANBU; he was the worst kind of pervert.

"Aw, Kuma doesn't mean too; people are just too fragile." As Nezumi soundlessly stomped on Tako's face, causing him to fall off the branch with an intentionally muffled yelp, Kuma twiddled his fingers together. A moment later though Tako appeared above them again, looking no worse for wear save for the tiny crack on his mask.

"How about we let the rookie take this one, eh Karasu-kun?" Saru looked up thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging; the team would be there if the boy got out of hand.

"I don't see why not; go get 'em Kouhai." Naruto glared at the man for a good few moments before soundlessly dropping off the branch. That was one thing the ANBU uniform was good for at least; besides being surprisingly comfortable, it naturally muffled any sounds his body made when it moved. Plus he was fairly certain the sturdy body armour and arm guards had saved him from a few nasty cuts when Nezumi forgot just how to properly hold back or bruises with Kuma in, well, just about every spar with Kuma. That bundle of muscle actually _didn't _know how to hold back.

He walked quickly through the compound towards the two fighting girls; the Inuzuka members that were watching immediately parted for the ANBU despite his small stature. It was odd; while Naruto relished in the fear of others, the look of respect he received from people when he wore this uniform was almost similar. However at the same time it brought a scowl to his face; it was just fake as the moment he removed the mask they would realise who he was and they would either hate or fear him. Oh great, now his mood was ruined.

Still with a scowl on his face, long golden chains suddenly whipped out of his body like an octopus unfurling its tentacles. They snapped at the ground, causing great rents to be torn from the earth and a loud cracking sound to ring out through the compound. Many of the Inuzuka nearby, due to their sensitive ears, cringed at the noise but the two brawling girls didn't even seem to notice. A wicked smile crossed Naruto's face as he remembered the words of that Kiba boy he had 'met' during his brief stint at the academy.

"The only thing they respect is dominance eh?" Suddenly the chains whipped out again, a few of the more savvy Inuzuka having already backed off after recognising just who this particular ANBU was. There was a loud yelping noise as four Ninken were suddenly hoisted up into the air with a gleaming chain about each of their midsections. That finally managed to get the girls to snap out of their scramble on the floor but it was too late. Suddenly two chains crashed into their ribs, flipping them over onto their backs with their heads just inches apart; another moment later and Naruto's boot-styled sandal was pressing down on Emi's neck while Hana was unfortunate enough to be pinned to the ground by her clothes.

"Sit." The two Inuzuka women, high on adrenaline and their natural canine instincts growled at the ANBU… literally growled; it nearly made Naruto chuckle. However he just pressed down harder on Emi's neck and moved his chains so that they began to lightly dig into Hana's skin. "I said… **sit**." It was spoken with no more volume than before, but there was now a presence behind it as Naruto suddenly brought the full force of his Chakra to bear. The two girls felt it almost as a physical weight pressing down on them and immediately they were snapped out of their battle-daze. Emi even let out a slight whimper causing Naruto to smirk as he finally released the pressure on her neck.

"Just what the hell is going on here?" The young blonde looked up to see a rather vicious looking woman with spiky brown hair walk through the front gates of the compound, followed closely by an equally grizzled canine wearing an eye-patch. Naruto took the opportunity to tear his chains out of the ground, but made a show of letting them slowly re-enter his body with an unsettling rattle.

"Just cleaning up a _dispute._" He put heavy sarcasm on it as he looked about the compound's grounds; it was covered in score marks, finger-sized scratched and what looked like drill-marks. "Keep a tighter leash next time." He walked off leaving Tsume looking down at the two now sheepish looking teens still lying on the floor and breathing heavily. The bestial woman couldn't help but notice the red tint to both the girl's cheeks, causing a smirk to break out on her face. Hana was certainly her daughter alright if she was getting flushed from being dominated like that.

"Alright girls; get over here. You're on punishment duty for the next week!" Naruto didn't hear any more as he dashed up to where his squad was waiting for him.

"So?" Saru cocked his head at him making Naruto sigh before quickly amending his statement. "So Taichou?" The man nodded and stroked the bottom of his mask slowly, almost as if he had a beard; Naruto was almost certain he didn't though.

"Good enough I suppose; I might have handled things a bit more… diplomatically; but I suppose the direct approach has merit." Naruto smirked beneath his mask as he looked to the others; Nezumi looked indifferent as usual but at least she tried by holding up an awkward thumbs up.

"Pretty good if I say so myself kid; you'll be beating off the ladies with those chains of yours if you keep up that domineering attitude; the girl's love that stuff." Tako suddenly cringed though, looking over to see Nezumi staring at him silently, a noxious purple aura bleeding off of her.

"Kuma liked it! And Karasu didn't even kill anyone!" The blonde smirked at that; however he felt something stir in his chest. It felt… odd to be congratulated, to have something he did validated by people and actually have it sound genuine. He did his best to ignore the feeling though, instead thinking of when next he might get to go one another mission; maybe something a bit more exciting.

* * *

A small group of shadows moved unnaturally in the night as they darted through tree after tree. They moved without a whisper, just another part of the scenery as not even a single branch creaked with their passing. Finally they stopped toward the crest of a large hill, the faint glow of campfires lighting up the sky just beyond. Slowly the shadows melded into people, their black and grey armour serving to naturally blend into the background. The only thing that stood out in stark contrast were the white porcelain masks, gleaming in the moonlight as the hunters surveyed their prey.

Their leader, bearing the likeness of monkey even if his calm demeanour would infer anything but, quickly flashed through a few hand signals, waiting for the nods of his companions. However as he made a quick head count he noticed one of their number missing. Flashing through a few more signals all he got were shrugs or silence from his squad mates, making the man place a hand on his mask in exasperation.

"Where did Karasu go?" He spoke in a hushed whisper so low not even somebody standing right beneath the tree they hid in would have heard. Again, nothing but silence from his team causing his eye to twitch in irritation.

"Maybe we left the kid behind? We _were_ setting a hefty pace." Tako offered lamely, looking about to see if Karasu would appear if he thought hard enough.

"No; He's… fast." Saru sighed, Nezumi was right; Naruto wouldn't have been left behind so easily. He cursed at having such a loose-cannon operative under his command, even more so than Kuma sometimes.

"Can't be helped; we're on a deadline here and that bandit encampment is going to overrun Okazu town at first light." He shook his head before going back over the plan with his team; getting the all clear he slowly led them over the crest of the hill. Below them a massive collection of tents, scattered amongst a few campfires, sprawled out across the valley. This was the group of bandits that had been terrorising this area of Hi no Kuni. They would amass their forces, quickly overrun and take over a town, drain it dry of alcohol, women and money before moving on to the next one. The only reason they hadn't been dealt with sooner was they rarely left anybody alive to tell people what they were doing.

However what they were expecting to see didn't quite match up with the reality. Instead of drunken bandits wandering around, or men 'sleeping' in their tents, the saw what looked like a hurricane site. Tents were destroyed beyond recognition, fires burned brightly where they were not supposed to be and then there was the blood. Everywhere the ground was drenched in it, bodies were piled up haphazardly, left where they had been cut down without mercy.

And of course, there right in the thick of it all, laughing and holding up three more bandits by the throat, was Naruto. He was covered in blood, his normally blonde hair slicked into a murky brown colour by it. He watched in almost insane amusement as he slammed the limp body of a man who was already likely dead over and over and over into the ground until the earth began to crater from the repeated impacts. To the side the other two men watched on in horror, clawing at the golden chain around their throats before they could meet the same fate.

"However just as Naruto was getting bored with his current play-toy and had turned his attention on the remaining survivors, the chains around their necks were suddenly severed. Naruto winced but otherwise remained fine; it was only a small section of chain. The following clip around the back of the head on the other hand...

"Ow! What was that for?" He looked up at Saru and despite the mask he felt the man's eyes boring into him with a dangerous intensity.

"You acted out of line." Naruto grumbled; he knew the man was serious as he hadn't even called him 'Kouhai'.

"I completed the mission didn't I… _Taichou?" _Saru just stared at him for a few moments longer before looking across at the two men now gasping on the ground.

"We needed at least one alive to question; I told you in the brief their movements were too organised." Naruto shrugged lamely, he rarely listened to those as they tended to go on for ages; he swore Saru just liked the sound of his own voice.

"Well there were no Shinobi here; or if there were…" Naruto smiled darkly beneath the mask only to have the back of his head clipped again, immediately snapping him out of it and causing him to glare up at his commander.

"Irrelevant; you disobeyed orders, acted on your own and…" He motioned about the bloodied camp; the stench was beginning to become something fierce. "…used unnecessary brutality." At that moment Kuma walked over, the two survivors under each arm; he carried them with the same ease one might a duffle bag.

"What does Taichou want Kuma to do with the bad guys?" Saru took one look at the two struggling men before sighing.

"I said we needed one to question." With that he turned back to Naruto and in the same instance Nezumi's sword flashed off her back, cleanly decapitating one of the men in a single motion. She didn't even get any blood on the blade. Naruto pointed weakly at the woman indignantly under Saru's gaze.

"Oh so what? She gets to kill people and I don't?" Nezumi looked at him curiously as she replaced the sword on her back while Saru sighed loudly.

"We are ANBU Karasu, we kill people. The difference is what you did was not killing… it was slaughter." Naruto shrugged, not really seeing the difference; the look of fear on their faces was all the same to him. "There is a reason we are on the right side of the law; a Shinobi must know how to show mercy as much as he should know how to kill." Naruto huffed, bowing air out between his teeth in frustration.

"What's that even supposed to mean?" Saru's hand twitched. "…Taichou." However the man didn't answer for a moment, turning back to his squad and quickly issuing orders for them to destroy the camp. "Taichou?" Saru turned back to Naruto and there was a long pause between them for a few moments.

"You'll learn eventually; that's one of the few things I can't teach you Karasu." And with that he walked off to help his team burn the camp down. Naruto was left standing there looking around at the destruction he had so easily caused. Previously he had felt joyed, hearing the bandit's scream and beg; they acknowledged his existence just like he wanted. However the blood that used to be so warm for him felt cold, the screams echoed in his head and he just felt… hollow.

* * *

Naruto stared up blandly at the plain white ceiling of his apartment; he wasn't sure how long he had been lying there now; maybe two or three hours? He swung lazily in his hammock, hands resting under his head as he just let his mind drift for a while. Normally he would like to keep hisself occupied to stop that very thing happening but recently he had changed. He hadn't noticed it at first and it was definitely a gradual change but lately he hadn't felt the need to just… do things. He supposed it was because with his introduction to ANBU he actually had things to think about for once.

There were the rules and regulation he had to memorise, the complex but still simple-enough hand-signal system they used and even his squad mates. He heard a thump upstairs and sighed; it was probably Kuma rolling out of bed again. For such a giant of a man his room was surprisingly spartan; Other than a small cot to sleep on and a little table that almost seemed comically small when he sat at it he had little in the way of furniture. The only defining features were the two large fridges full of food and the stack of children's and board games in the corner.

He thought about the glimpses of his other teammates rooms he had seen briefly, his mind just aimlessly wandering. He had never been inside Tako's room as every time he was invited in Nezumi would be there to stop him, usually hitting Tako for suggesting it. However he had caught glimpses and inside it seemed to be filled with a myriad of strange artefacts he couldn't recognise. In a way it was similar to Nezumi's room; however hers was filled to the brim with weapons and nothing but. There were more types of weapons in that woman's room than he ever new existed, sometimes multiple copies.

The strangest thing was that Nezumi seemed to value them all the same; old antiques sat alongside brand new, standard-issue Ninjatos. Apparently to a weapon's expert like her all weapons were equal as long as they did their job. Then again the woman still seemed to value that one Katana on her back more than anything. None of the rooms could compare to Saru's though, if it could even be called a room. It was more like walking into a museum or art exhibition than a place somebody lived in.

Masterfully painted artworks littered the wall, sharing space with beautiful calligraphy and seemingly hand-made sculptures of varying sizes and materials. There was always the heady scent of tea in the air and stacks upon stacks of books littered every corner of the room because the few shelves he has were completely full. If it wasn't books it was scrolls; sometime Naruto wondered if the man wouldn't have a better calling as a librarian than a trained assassin. The he remembered the man's lightning-quick chops and forgot that line of thought.

As he was thinking his head drifted up only to jerk in shock as he suddenly fell off his hammock. Right above his bed was Nezumi, clinging to the rafter with her toes; the weirdest thing was that she wasn't even using Chakra to do it, she was just using her own power. She cocked her head quizzically at Naruto's reaction before dropping down without a sound. Naruto took the opportunity to stand up and place his signature scowl on his face; he was glad the mask at least hid his surprise.

"How long were you there?" Nezumi looked up for a moment and Naruto could almost hear her counting in her head.

"Half… an hour." Naruto blinked; how did that woman so still and quiet for so long? Wait that wasn't the problem here.

"Why?" Again the woman looked up and Naruto just wanted to sigh; Kuma may have been a simpleton but Nezumi was just… strange.

"I didn't want… to disturb you." Naruto placed his hand on his face.

"Whatever, just get out." Nezumi quickly shook her head as she moved over to the window; she didn't have to say anything for Naruto to know she wanted him to follow her. Instead of trying to question it and get an even larger headache he just followed her out the window. All he saw was her pony-tailed hair swaying as they hopped across rooftops for a while before they finally reached a training ground Naruto didn't recognise. However from the multitude of slash marks he could see on the ground and trees he assumed it was for Kenjutsu practitioners.

"Okay, now what?" Nezumi held up a hand and a moment later produced a long, thin Ninjato that looked perfectly crafted as it glinted in the weakening light. Naruto just raised an eyebrow at it, not that Nezumi could see. "What do you expect me to do with that?" A Chain leaked from his wrist and tentatively poked the blade, making Nezumi pull it back to her body as if insulted.

"Too reliant… on chains." Naruto's scowl deepened at the accusation.

"So what? It's not like I ever run out of them." Suddenly though Nezumi was gone and Naruto suddenly felt a crippling exhaustion rip through his body, forcing him to a knee. It was as if he had forced out the longest chain he could only to have it severed at the base. He looked back to see Nezumi behind him, having just placed a tag with a few squiggly lines on his back. "W-What?" Nezumi cocked her head as she walked back around to his front, crouching down near him.

"Chakra… suppressor." Naruto grit his teeth and forced himself to his feet; the shock was tremendous but once it passed he could actually move again, He felt as feeble as a toddler and his entire body was suddenly incredibly cold, but he could move. Again Nezumi held out the sword toward him and for a while he just glared at it; however he knew if he simply made to rip the tag off his back Nezumi would stop him. After a while Nezumi's head cocked the other way and she slowly pointed to herself.

"Sensei…" She then pointed to Naruto and after a hesitant pause continued "…student." Naruto grimaced before simply snatching the sword out of her hands.

"Fine, fine; let's just do this." Nezumi seemed to bounce on her feet for a moment in almost childish excitement but he couldn't see behind her mask so it was a strange sight. Instead he turned his eyes to the sword in his hands; he had never held one before. However, as he looked at it, ran his hand down the steel and over the hilt he felt a sort of familiarity. It was almost as if-

"Ahhh!"

Nezumi's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly collapsed to the ground, one hand on his temple as he suddenly began to scream; all the while his hand closed tightly around the blade, his knuckles turning white and blood leaking from his palm.


	4. Fourth Link

**-Insert generic disclaimer here-**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

_Naruto took a long, deep breath. It was a cold night so he was able to watch the slight mist escape his mouth and float off before dissipating. In front of him he held out his blade, a long straight Ninjato without ornament or decoration. It was a blade for killing, not for ceremony and the few scratches along the steel and the wicked gleam to the edge showed that clearly enough. He took another few long breaths, regulating his breathing with his eyes focused forward. Looking from his perspective, with the sword raised horizontally, it looked as though he was splitting the waterfall in two._

_Slowly he took a step forward, his foot light and weightless before it pressed down on the damp grass. The slight crunch of the dewy ground was lost in the roar of the waterfall; it was why Naruto liked this clearing so much; it was so easy to focus. His foot pressed down completely and like that, he just moved. Forward, a stab. Sidestep, a sweeping slash diagonally up. Hop back, block from the left with a dodge from the right. He dropped down and swiped out to both sides so fast his blade left a silvery trail in the air. _

_More stabs, another invisible opponent dropped to the ground as the blade span once in his hand. It was needless movement but it diverted attention from his footwork. A sudden and unexpected back step took him within another shadow enemy's guard and a lightning-fast jab through the crook of the shoulder finished him. Is body bent back at an unnatural angle, the sword keeping him propped up so his back was just a hair's breath from the damp ground. He span, legs flashing out to take the footing from his final two attackers only he could see. _

_With a final flurry Naruto flicked the imaginary blood from his blade and re-sheathed it all in one smooth motion. His breaths were calm and collected if not a bit deeper than before; even after hours of practice he only felt slightly winded. His eyes travelled up to the moon, hanging sentinel over the sky like an observer sent to watch his practice. Speaking of observers, he was shocked out of his daze by a sudden slow, rhythmic clap from behind._

"_Wow." He turned, blood rushing to his cheeks and a small bashful smile appearing on his face as he nervously rubbed the back of his hair. _

"_What that? That was nothing 'ttebane…" The young blonde-haired boy standing across the clearing from him just smiled warmly as Naruto took that opportunity to allow his long red hair to fall messily about his face, like a curtain he could hide behind._

"_Are you kidding? The Chuunin exams won't know what hit them." If anything the blush on Naruto's cheeks only intensified as the boy was suddenly there, brushing the hair out of his eyes and over his ear. For a moment he was lost in those startling blue eyes, like deep pools that he could look into forever. After a moment he realised where he was staring and immediately looked away, his face aflame as his fist clenched at his side. A second later and he was back to his usual self, a fire burning in his violet eyes._

"_Damn right 'ttebane!" The blonde boy just chuckled in that irritating but adorably flaky way of his._

"_You'll never change, will you Ku-"_

* * *

"Argh!" Naruto shot up straight in a flash, his eyes wide and his chest rose and fell rapidly with his quivering heartbeat. For a moment he just sucked in lung-fulls of air, unblinking and unmoving as his mind struggled to comprehend what he had just seen.

No. Seen wasn't strong enough; he hadn't just seen that… he had lived it. Every sense was there from the slight damp on his skin from sweat to the scent of the wildflowers in the area. It was more like a memory than a vision; a memory that certainly wasn't his.

"Are you… okay?" He finally looked around to spot Nezumi sitting a few feet from him, her legs tucked up to her chest as she regarded him curiously. He blinked a few more times behind his mask, thankful it stopped the woman seeing the full effect of his panic.

"What happened?" The woman shrugged, jostling the large blade on her back for a moment.

"You screamed… and fell… unconscious." Naruto frowned; was that all some kind of messed up dream? He looked down to see his hand trembling slightly and immediately grabbed his wrist to stop it. No, it was definitely not a dream. Suddenly his hand came up on instinct and caught a blade out of the air as Nezumi threw him one. With a start he realised it was the same one he was holding earlier and nearly dropped it, but his hand wouldn't let go. On reflexes that were not his own his hand naturally slid into a more comfortable grip on the hilt; the action caused Nezumi's eyebrow to raise behind her mask.

"What happened… to you?" Naruto just continued to look at the blade for a while; it was roughly the same length as the one he had seen in… whatever that was. It glinted in the moonlight slightly, giving the edge a vicious gleam to it that made the blade seem almost hungry.

"I don't know." Both were silent for a while with just the wind blowing their hair to show they were more than just statues on the grass. Suddenly though Nezumi stood up and drew her blade in one smooth, immaculate motion that left the tip just lightly brushing the tip of a grass stalk.

"Show… me." Naruto frowned at her but stood up all the same; he found his eyes naturally drawn to the way her feet were positioned, the way her hand gripped the hilt, even how her shoulders were slightly tensed. Without him even noticing his feet moved in unconscious movements that weren't practised but at the same time felt as though he had made a thousand times. Nezumi's head cocked at the odd but familiar movements; she swore she had seen a similar stance somewhere before.

Deciding not to give Naruto time to gain his bearings for whatever was going on with him Nezumi flashed forward, her blade leaving a streak in the air. However to her surprise Naruto's eyes immediately followed the motion and he immediately stepped to the side, holding up his blade and diverting the slash away from his body before immediately flowing forward with a swipe of his own. However to Nezumi's confusion the seemingly perfectly executed manoeuvre fell short, the swipe only blowing air at her.

Naruto looked similarly confused as he looked down at his hands, wondering where all these movements were coming from. It was like he saw Nezumi move and his body just responded automatically. Nezumi pressed the attack again, this time coming down with an overhead slash; this time Naruto dodged back, but much further than he should have needed to. It was almost as if he had something on his chest he needed to protect with the way his body curved away. He tried to use the momentum to swing around and take out Nezumi's footing; normally that would have been a good strategy.

However Naruto overextended his footing, almost like he was used to having longer legs, and stumbled. His legs fell out from under him and suddenly Nezumi was straddling his midsection, blade poised at his throat. After only a moment of struggling where Nezumi just pressed the blade a little harder on his skin, but never breaking it, Naruto finally stopped.

"I give." He grunted it out irritably and Nezumi immediately got off him, offering him a hand up that he ignored and stood up by himself.

"What was… that?" The only thing Nezumi could compare it too was when she saw inexperienced Yamanakas take over a person's body that was too dissimilar to their own. They would make clumsy movements due to the different lengths of the arms and legs, or naturally stand a certain way that didn't match the person they possessed.

"Like I said, I don't know. When you move my body just moves on its own, like reflex." Nezumi's eyes narrowed slightly; that was like no reflexes she had ever seen before. A young trainee does not suddenly inherit the reflexes and style of a Kenjutsu master, even if their body is wrong for it.

"Show me… again." For a while Nezumi danced around Naruto, carefully observing how his body reacted to the things she did. All of the blonde's footings, save when he over or under-extended , were perfect. Likewise his grip and the way his eyes tracked her was immaculate; the only problem was he seemed to be trying to use the movements of somebody both taller than him… and oddly somebody with breasts. He lacked the flexibility for many of the stunts he attempted and it showed.

"Stop, you need to… learn the limit… of your reach." She chastised as Naruto growled at her for slashing him lightly on the arm to remind him of his mistake again. At this point the boy was littered with tiny scratches no deeper than a paper cut, each a mistake he had made and one he wouldn't soon repeat if possible. However the problem seemed to be the fact these reflexes were deeply ingrained; only they were wrong. This meant Nezumi would have to first make Naruto un-learn all of this before teaching him again; it was going to take longer than she thought.

"No… too far… again." She intoned in her emotionless voice as a tiny cut appeared on Naruto's wrist, nearly making his drop his blade from the shock, but he didn't. "Take smaller… steps." Another cut on the back of the leg, again never deeper than half an inch; Nezumi's control was perfect. "There's… no need to… lean back so far." Another thin scratch to the small of his back causing the blonde to wince. "Stop protecting… things that are not… there." A scratch just above Naruto's heart and the boy finally snapped; throwing his sword into the ground where it easily bit into the earth before lightly vibrating where it stood.

"Dammit I'm trying –Dattebane!" Immediately Naruto's eyes went wide as he slapped his hands over his mouth over the mask in shock; what the hell had he just said? Likewise Nezumi just stared at the boy for a good long few moments; she had never heard him use that verbal tic before. All of this was very strange for her; she had never dealt with something quite like it, and in ANBU she had seen a lot. This was more a job for Saru, the man was a lot more knowledgeable than her; he always knew what to do.

"We're…done… for tonight." Naruto just grunted with a small nod; his hands were by his sides again and he quickly stuck them in his pockets as he stalked off back towards his apartment. Nezumi watched him go with curious eyes before silently vanishing into the night with barely a flicker. She was sure that whatever was going on with Naruto would pass… maybe.

Hopefully it wouldn't affect him on missions.

* * *

Two guards stood idly in front of the gates to a large compound, the impressive stone wall rising up behind them to deter any attackers. One sat in a chair, leaning back on it and swinging his feet idly. The other just leaned against the wall, tapping his long Naginata on the ground to a tune only he could hear. Both would have been heavily admonished by their captain had he seen them lounging like this however neither could be bothered to care. It was late and they weren't even supposed to be on this shift; they had to cover for a couple of idiots that had gotten a bit too handsy down at the local Geisha house and had been thrown in a cell for the night.

"Hey, would you stop tapping that thing, I can't think for shit." The one with the bladed-spear scoffed, never noticing as a long glowing chain slowly descended from the shadows behind him.

"Yeah, and what would you be thinking about Kisuke? Tell me your deep ponderings oh sagely one." His sarcastic voice masked the subtle clinks as the first chain was joined by an identical twin, this one creeping up on the seating man.

"Hey, you never know man, I could have this amazing idea for that story I'm writing." As he sat forward on the chair to argue with his partner the two chains moved into position, the bladed ends poising to strike at the chink between their helmets and the back of their breastplates.

"Oh yeah, that story you started two years ago after reading that stupid smut." It would be a quick death, painless and sudden as their spines were cleanly severed; one moment there, the next… gone.

"Hey, Icha Icha is not smut; it's a dedicated tale of a lone Shinobi willing to cross any boundary for love!" The chains quivered in anticipation in harmony with their wielder only for both to suddenly jerk as a hand reached out and grabbed them, tugging them back into the darkness.

"Yeah, the boundary of a hot spring maybe; it's totally for perverts." Neither of the guards ever realised how thin a tether their lives had been hanging on that night.

* * *

Further around the compound a young blonde was slammed bodily into a wall as his octopus-masked superior glared at him stonily, the glowing golden chains still grasped securely in hand.

"What the hell are you doing kid?" Tako's voice couldn't even be compared to a whisper; concealed in the shadows like that the two ANBU operatives were completely invisible.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto's tone lacked the experience but it was still suppressed so they wouldn't be found. However his eyes didn't meet the small holes in Tako's mask and his voice was gruff and dismissive; at least as much as an eight-year old could sound.

"I'm talking about those two guards you were about to kill; what about silent infiltration and assassination did you not understand?" Naruto huffed as he pushed Tako off him, the older but short man being forced to let go of the chains as spikes suddenly grew from the glowing links. After whatever had happened to him back with Nezumi his control over both his Chakra and his chains had improved dramatically; it was like he had been dealing with large amounts of Chakra for a lifetime.

"Whatever, if they were dead they couldn't call out to anybody." Tako just laced his masked face in his hand and shook it for a moment; normally the short man was fairly calm and light hearted so It was rare to see him this irritated.

"Oh yeah, and were you going to kill every guard on patrol to stop them noticing as they walked by?" Naruto's eyes narrowed as he dropped to the ground quietly, his Chains retracting into his body with only a dulled clinking.

"Maybe, if I had to." Tako shortly joined him, staring right at the younger operative their squad had taken under wing. They could understand him somewhat as they were all outcasts in their own way but that didn't mean they had to stand for insubordination and attitude.

"Listen _Kouhai…_" Naruto winced at the stressed word; he knew if Tako was saying it he was being deadly serious. "…our unit, while dysfunctional, has a near flawless mission record. I'm not letting you ruin that for everybody else just because you think you need attention. You may be just a little kid, but you're also an ANBU operative; there's supposed to be a measure of responsibility that comes with that title, so start acting like it." Naruto growled but he said nothing; throughout the entire speech Tako had never raised his voice or given it an aggressive edge; he was just stating facts.

"…Fine." Naruto finally ground out between gritted teeth; it wasn't like he had much choice. Tako was a master of infiltration and always seemed to be everywhere at once; if Naruto stepped out of line, he would know. Then Saru would find out and it made Naruto wince just thinking about the consequences; the team captain wouldn't just give him a verbal grilling. No, he would set him some tortuous task and call it 'training' all with that smug, self-righteous tone of his.

"Is everything… okay?" Suddenly there were three of them as Nezumi seemingly bled out of the shadows like some kind of phantom, her body noiseless. However Tako simply patted Naruto on the shoulder fondly and cocked his head at the woman in his usual flippant way.

"Ah Nezumi-chan, you didn't think to check up on old me did you? That's so cute." Nezumi stared at the diminutive man for a few moments before lazily pointing at Naruto.

"Not you… him." Immediately Tako's whole body seemed to slump forward, an imaginary raincloud over his body as his voice came out in a sulky, but still quiet, tone.

"Oh, so cold Nezumi-chan, so cold." Nezumi simply regarded them for another few moments before dissipating back into the shadows like she was never there. Almost immediately Tako straightened up, shot Naruto a warning glance and vanished over the wall, leaving the youngest operative to himself. He growled once before following them over; it was all just so frustrating.

All these rules, all these regulations, this chain of command, these limits on what he was allowed to do, these damn flashbacks… visions… memories or whatever they were. It was really starting to get to the blonde. It wasn't just an isolated incident and as Naruto hopped the wall into the large, sprawling estate they were infiltrating, he had the feeling they would only get worse if he didn't do anything about them.

The problem was he just didn't know what to do.

* * *

Naruto walked listlessly through the quiet, night-time streets of his village, although thinking of it as 'his' village made him internally scoff. Konoha was as much his village as the sea was a piranha's; he may live there but he certainly wasn't welcome. Luckily his ANBU mask and uniform kept his identity somewhat secret, especially when he wore his dark cloak to cover up his hair. It wasn't too much of an issue tonight though, there was a light rain and it was already past one in the morning so most people were in their homes, asleep.

It was peaceful, quiet, and Naruto hated it. He had gotten used to the general activity ANBU life had brought him so these moments of inactivity, however brief, were irritating. Whether it was out taking missions that pushed his body and mind to their limits, then past them, or just eating in the canteen with the other operatives; he just wanted to be busy. Although, having his squad mates steal his food when he wasn't looking was beginning to grow annoying.

The real reason he hated all the quiet was because it let him think and when he thought his mind drifted to less pleasant topics. His past, his treatment, his burden, the things he had seen in ANBU, the things he saw in his 'visions'; on his own they were inescapable. The only reason he didn't try to sleep them off because in his dreams they became even more vivid, even harder to ignore. Often he would see the memories of this person that seemed to inhabit his mind; normally inconsequential things like a stroll around a familiar village or running through a kata in a training field.

He sighed as he passed by a nearby alleyway only to wince and place a finger against his temple.

* * *

"_Over here!" The blonde boy called to him, a wide smile on his face as he took Naruto by the hand and dragged him down the alley and out of the rain. Already his long crimson tresses were soaked through and hung like a sopping curtain over his eyes. All the same, a grin split his face as he just allowed himself to be pulled along, enjoying the warmth in that simple contact. _

* * *

Naruto groaned as he shook his head of the brief memory; they seemed to be growing more frequent ever since that training session with Nezumi. On the other hand they were growing easier to tolerate; they were no longer debilitating on missions which was good. On the other, other hand Naruto was growing scared; what if he was growing used to them? Already he had felt himself changing, saying things he wouldn't normally say, walking a way that he didn't even realise looked all wrong for his body structure.

He shook his head, trying to regain composure as he took a deep breath only to unconsciously smile as he caught a whiff of something that smelled unbelievably good.

* * *

"_Hey Teuchi-Ojisan, what's on the menu today?" Naruto called out happily as he skirted under the curtain into the small ramen shack. The kindly man, no older than thirty or so, grinned back at him as he rubbed down a small bowl._

"_Well, if it isn't my number one customer!" He turned back, tapping on the door to the back area of the small food stall. "Hey Akane, look who's here." A few moments later and a young woman of around the same age as the stall owner walked out, her long brown hair tied back and a clean white apron covering her front. _

"_Ohayo Tomato-Chan." Naruto's eye twitched as he self-conciously brushed his long hair back over his ear; although he could never get angry at Akane. The woman was just too nice and her voice too gentle; he knew she never really meant it. _

"_You know I hate that nickname Akane-Obasan." Naruto whined, only to immediately be bopped lightly on the head by a long wooden spoon, only look up to see no such implement present and Akane with an innocent, but oddly intimidating smile._

"_Just like I don't like being called 'Aunty'; it makes me feel old you know." Naruto just chuckled nervously at that as Teuchi walked over with a massive steaming bowl of ramen, a good three times the size of a normal portion._

"_The normal I presume then for Ichiraku's number one customer?" Naruto grinned brightly, brushing his hair back over his shoulder before tucking into the meal with a quick Itadakimasu. It was demolished in no time at all and soon he was able to lean back on the stool, a contented and happy expression on his face._

"_Ahh, Ichiraku make the best Ramen ever 'ttebane!" Akane and Teuchi just chuckled as the older woman walked back into the rear of the shop, Teuchi quickly moving to prepare a new bowl._

"_And don't you forget it young lady."_

* * *

Naruto gasped as he snapped back into reality, his eyes going wide before he forced them back into his usual scowl. That was usually the way it went; he would flashback to a memory until a strong enough reminder came along that these were not _his _memories. It could be noticing his… _her _breasts, someone using the wrong pronoun or usually, someone calling him by _her _name. He still didn't know whose memories exactly he was witnessing, they usually cut off before he got the name.

He had tried to talk to Saru about it as the man was like a fount of knowledge on every other conceivable subject. However the normally wise and helpful captain of their squad didn't have much to say on the subject. He seemed just as clueless as everybody else by it; the only thing he could recommend was having a Yamanaka look into it. Unfortunately for Naruto, due to the Kyuubi there was a standing order that no Yamanaka ever delve into his mind; they couldn't know the consequences.

A grunt of frustration escaped his gritted teeth as he roughly slammed his fist into a nearby wooden beam, nearly splintering the poor construct. He stood there for a moment, breathing heavily as he thought about his own helplessness in the situation. He was losing himself, slowly or not, and for the first time in a long time he was genuinely terrified. But he was Uzumaki Naruto for Kami's sake; he'd go out kicking and screaming if he had to.

"Nobody subsumes my personality without a fight –'ttebane!" His eyes immediately widened when he realised what he said before his entire body slumped, his shoulders going slack as he nearly collapsed to the floor. For a moment he just stared forward unblinkingly before quietly picking himself up and walking off. He couldn't wait for the next mission; he needed something… anything to keep his mind busy.

While it was still his mind.

* * *

Up on a shadowed rooftop a set of shadowed violet eyes watched with curiosity and concern as Naruto stalked off. She had watched his small internal argument and had almost intervened but by the time she worked herself up to it Naruto had already picked himself up and dusted himself off. It was one of things she rather admired about the young boy; his will to never give up, even if it just came out as pure stubbornness sometimes. She was about to take off after him, keeping up her self-imposed mission of making sure he was okay, when she felt the faintest of presences alight on the rooftop beside her.

"Having an entertaining night Nezumi-san?" Nezumi didn't need to turn to recognise him; his calm voice and familiar Chakra told her everything she needed to know.

"Saru…Taichou." She inclined her head slightly, her eyes still following the young cloaked boy wandering off through the quiet streets.

"I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish from up here Nezumi; just watching the boy won't do much." Nezumi's hand tightened momentarily; she knew it was a fault of hers but her pensive, thoughtful nature just wouldn't allow her to act so impulsively.

"Then… what?" Silence was her answer for a while, until Naruto had moved out of sight and her legs were itching to follow after him.

"You know; he's changed a lot since joining the squad; they may be subtle but they are there." Nezumi nodded; she had noticed both the changes happening to Naruto because of environment, and because of whatever inner turmoil he was going through. "He's not the only one." Nezumi finally tore her eyes away for a moment to look into Saru's blank mask. "Tako-san has learned to be a bit more discreet with his less that savoury habits." Nezumi's fingers instinctually twitched toward the blade on her back at the mention of her perverted teammate's codename.

"Kuma-san is starting to understand the limits of his strengths; did you know he almost managed to spar with Karasu for a full thirty seconds yesterday?" Nezumi blinked; that was rather surprising for the brute that supposedly had no ability to hold back. "Just give Karasu-kun some time; you may even surprise yourself." And like that Saru was gone like a whisper and for a few moments Nezumi just crouched there and pondered his words.

Saru confused her as of late; she was almost certain that he knew more than he let on. When she first told him about Naruto's episode he seemed genuinely confused; however after mentioning the word 'Dattebane' he had shown his surprise. It was subtle, just a slight twitch of the finger, but for Nezumi who had spent her entire life learning to read people's body language, it was noticeable. However she didn't ponder it for long before Saru's words came back to her.

Had she changed since Naruto joined the squad?

* * *

Naruto growled into his mask as he twisted his body in the air, quickly latching onto a nearby tree branch with his Chakra-infused foot and using the leverage the launch himself away just as the tree was peered with a barrage of Kirigakure's unique kunai. The thrower of the weapons was quick to pursue, trying to get in close only to be forced back as the ground around him was transformed into a sea of wicked golden chains. They whipped and lashed out randomly, trying to pin down the annoyingly flexible man. When he moved into the trees to get away from them they simply sliced through the trunks, once again forcing the enemy Shinobi to the ground.

"Hah, a Konoha Shinobi actually getting rid of trees? Isn't that a crime for you tree hugge-" The man's rant was cut off as Naruto appeared in front of him, blade poised to strike. He parried it, using the perpendicular spike on his kunai to hold of the blade at the tsuba. However it only lasted a moment before his entire body convulsed before going limp. In the split second he had halted Naruto's forward momentum the boy had let loose as barrage of chains from his chest that easily speared through the man.

"What are Kirigakure doing out here?" Naruto was thankful the voice modifier on his mask didn't give away his age as the gruff, slightly garbled tones emerged from his blood-spattered mask. Unfortunately for him the man had no answers to give as he slumped over, his body giving out on him from the shock. "Damn." As Naruto slid the man off his now red-tinted chains he growled again in frustration; he was sure he aimed for non-lethal spots. Admittedly he had fired almost twenty chains into the man's chest, but it wasn't like he punctured an organ.

A sigh escaped his lips as he wiped off his brow only to frown as he felt his mask fall off his face, a long crack running right down the middle. Huh, it seemed the enemy's kunai were slightly more on target than he thought. Saru wasn't going to be happy when he got back from his mission; that was the seventh mask he had broken in his tenure in ANBU and he was beginning to gain a reputation for it.

For now he simply pulled up a scarf around his neck to covered the bottom half of his features and allowed his lengthening hair to fall limply across his eyes, held down by the blood drenching it. Even at his short stature he made for an intimidating sight covered in the crimson life-fluid, glowing chains still writhing around his body. After making sure his identity wasn't too compromised, not like it already wasn't, he set off into the woods to locate the rest of his teammates.

A few days ago Saru had declared his skills roughly on par with a Chuunin; at just under nine years old that was something of an achievement. However for Naruto it just mean that like every other ANBU out of their training period he could now be assigned to other teams. He was still a part of Saru's squad, but often ANBU lacked the manpower to have such clearly defined units. As he thought about his new teammates reaction to having 'Kusari no Naruto' on their team, even for a mission, he wanted to laugh. He thought it was a fairly stupid and unoriginal name but you couldn't really complain to the people who made the bingo books.

Today he was in a three-man cell sent up to the land of frost for some reconnaissance; it was supposed to be fairly routine. Hah, Naruto could count the number of 'routine' missions he had been on with both hands; something always found a way to go wrong. This time it was likely because they had a rookie in the group; and with Naruto only having been in ANBU for over a year that as saying something. This was the girl's first real mission and already it had gone to hell.

They hadn't expected the team of Kiri Chuunin to be there; unfortunately for them their Jounin commander apparently wanted no witnesses to whatever they were doing. As he alighted on a tree-branch overlooking a clearing he spotted that very same commander lying in a pool of his own blood, not too far from Naruto's other teammate for the mission… also dead. Over on the far side the rookie was holding out admirably from a combined assault from the last two remaining members of the Kiri group; the other three lying scattered about in the forest wherever Naruto deigned to drop them.

He sat on that tree branch watching the young girl get pushed progressively further and further back, spinning her metal Bo-staff in obviously practised motions that, unfortunately for her, were just too slow. For a moment Naruto considered letting the girl just die, one less rookie he'd have to worry about; it wasn't like the ANBU commander could refute his report if he was the only one left. Unfortunately the paperwork he would have to fill out would be a pain and he already had enough suspicion on him from the higher-ups without this on his shoulders. With a sigh he dropped to the ground without a whisper.

The young ANBU recruit winced as another cut appeared across her arm but she didn't relent as she managed to divert the follow up attack to the side with her Bo. She was doing well but it was obvious if this kept up she'd go the way of Tora-Taichou, and Karasu was nowhere to be seen. However even as she thought those words, desperation taking over her mind, the Kiri chuunin in front of her suddenly paused. A moment later and she nearly gagged in her mouth as the man was literally ripped in half at the waist, each section supported by a recognisable gold chain. The man's partner was so shocked at the sight he couldn't even react as his limbs were suddenly skewered to the floor, although the scream that ripped from his throat was very real.

And there, behind it all was Karasu, drenched in blood and viscera, his shaggy golden hair set free by his lack of mask, something he was notorious for in the ANBU. He took one look at her with those cold steely blue eyes that on any child should have looked youthful and bright, but on him… on him it simply looked as though he was only seeing your weaknesses.

"Usagi right?" Naruto often struggled to remember the names of people who weren't his regular teammates; it didn't help the masks' designs were rather vague on the animals they represented. However Usagi merely nodded, her body frozen in place as Naruto casually flicked the two halves of the chuunin off his chains and retracted them into his body with an unsettling rattling.

"T-Thank you." With a start Usagi realised that this boy, the one that was talked about in hushed whispers in the ANBU canteen, who was slated as a demon and an unfeeling killing machine… had just saved her life. However the boy simply looked at her, managing to look down on her despite the obvious height difference; he huffed once before turning to the man he had pinned to the ground.

"You nearly died; you need to get stronger or I won't be around to save you again." And with that rather aggressive statement he stalked off toward his new prisoner to work out how he was going to get the chuunin back to Konoha without him bleeding out; a problem he had all too often in his opinion. Once his back was turned Usagi slumped to the ground on her knees, her eyes wide and her breathing heavy. Just being stared at by that boy was like having a house placed on her shoulders; his Chakra was so dense and powerful that to a sensor like her; it was too much.

"Oi, get up; we have to destroy the bodies." She was forcefully yanked to her feet as Naruto appeared behind her again, picking her up by the back of the uniform. It snapped her out of it though and a shaky smile appeared on her lips behind the mask.

"R-Right Karasu-sempai." Naruto paused at that and quirked an eyebrow at her; that was a first. No other ANBU had ever referred to him with anything other than impassivity or a simple 'kouhai'.

"Whatever." He never saw as Usagi's eyes drifted along his glowing chains, taking in how they radiated a soft, warm light. Like cracks spreading on glass, Naruto had a way of touching people in unexpected ways.

Maybe not good ones though.


	5. Fifth Link

**I... do not own do not own do not own ****do not own do not own do not own ****do not own do not own *deep breath* I... do not own do not own...**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Naruto, or Karasu as he was increasingly coming to identify himself by, sat on a tree branch boredly swinging his leg and arm over the side. He swayed about his Chains beneath him like some glowing golden chandelier, endlessly delighting Kuma as the massive man stood beneath, batting the swaying chains like a kitten might a piece of string. Really the man's childishness was unbelievable, especially considering his ungodly strength. However while waiting for half their squad to report back to their desolate location Naruto had little else to do.

Thankfully his silent pleas were answered as Saru, Tako and Nezumi all flickered into the surrounding trees. Naruto immediately, much to Kuma's distress, stopped what he was doing and snapped the chains back into his body like noodles being slurped up. The other three members of the squad stared at the two silently for a few moments before subtly shaking their head and ignoring it. That was good because Naruto didn't particularly want to explain himself.

"So what's the damage?" Before Naruto knew what hit him something fast and powerful struck him right in the forehead; if he didn't have his mask on he was sure that would have hurt. He looked over and just caught Saru's fingers coming out of a flicking motion which was probably connected to the small pebble now lying at the blonde's feet. "…Taichou." Saru nodded happily but wasn't the one to speak, Tako took that honour.

"We scouted out the camps; seems the reports were accurate so far." The team was out here because Konoha had been getting increasing reports of oddly organised bandit raids on nearby towns. It almost reminded Naruto of his first mission out of the village. However these were confirmed to have some kind of Shinobi, or former-Shinobi influence behind them. The bandits weren't just organised, they were trained. Weaker than most genin they might have been but with that many, quite possibly numbering in the hundreds, they were a threat.

"So did you find the leader?" There had been sightings of at least one man using high-powered Jutsu during a few raids and less confirmed sightings of a group of less powerful people displaying Shinobi-like abilities.

"They have… tents." Tako nodded, quickly taking over from Nezumi again lest the briefing drag on into the night.

"A lot of them; it would be difficult for even me to search through them all without being spotted at least once and we can't afford to tip them off to our presence just yet." Naruto growled as he dropped out of the tree, looking remarkably like a monkey as a chain emerged from his tailbone to swing him to the floor.

"Why don't we just wipe them all out, like before?" A valid question; their team comprised of a lot of firepower even if it wasn't in the form of wide-spread or flashy Jutsu, things that tended to be frowned upon in the corp.

"Because Karasu…" Saru punctuated his statement by slapping Naruto on the back of his head before the boy could react "…we have a confirmed leader this time. If we tip him off and he escapes then this will all simply repeat again in the future." Naruto just grinned; then they just didn't have to let anybody escape.

"Wouldn't that just mean repeat business for us… Taichou?" Konoha was after all, a rather glorified mercenary group; as all Ninja were; however Saru just looked like he wanted to hit the boy again.

"Konoha isn't like that; plus we would lose faith with the clients." He seemed to add that last part in as an afterthought.

"Whatever, so what do we do?" Despite being at the level he could be rotated between ANBU cells most of what he did was still a learning experience for Naruto. As much as he was loathe to admit it, Saru was the teacher he had never really had; hell as far as Naruto was concerned the man knew practically everything. After another clip around the ear for his lack of proper address Saru explained.

"Kuma, Karasu and Nezumi will infiltrate the camp under henge; you three are able to do the most amount of damage in the shortest amount of time and the closest thing we have to crowd control. Stay undetected for as long as possible; if any of you spot the leader of the camp you are to eliminate immediately without hesitation. Tako and I will be awaiting around the edges of the camp to pick off any stragglers that attempt to escape." That made sense; Taku and Saru were the fastest in the group along with Nezumi and she was likely there to make sure Naruto and Kuma didn't do something stupid.

"Once the leader and any higher-level subordinates are dealt with…" Saru paused for a moment and looked over to the faint glow on the horizon marking the massive bandit camp. "…deal with everybody else as cleanly and as swiftly as possible." Naruto simply grinned; it all sounded good to him.

* * *

When Naruto had heard they would be infiltrating under henge he hadn't quite expected… this. For himself he had simply given himself a non-descript appearance with mousy brown hair and added more than a few inches to his height. His clothing was plain and utilitarian and the sword on his back looked more weather-beaten than it was. Kuma seemed to have gone for the same, taking a considerable amount of his bulk off and adding a few scars about his person. Nezumi on the other hand seemed to have a slight thing for the dramatic.

The woman was knelt down in the mud at his feet, wearing nothing but a few strips of ragged cloth that did little to cover her modesty. Her hair, now a sandy blonde, hung about her watery and bloodshot eyes in messy bangs. She really looked the part of the beaten captive. It was lucky Naruto was too young to really be appreciating what he was seeing as Nezumi hadn't seemed to 'edit' any of her body structure, including her various curves.

It was this attention to fine detail that got them easily waved past the entrance to the camp, most eyes were on Nezumi's defeated form anyway as she was roughly hauled forward by Kuma. They were quickly, and rather gleefully, directed towards a specific tent to deposit Nezumi. Naruto understood her choice in henge when it turned out to be a tent almost solely filled with women in similar, or even worse states of dress and health. Naruto stared blankly at them all from behind his henge's scowl before simply turning and leaving the tent, a strange feeling building in his stomach.

Then, all of a sudden he was in the camp; it was almost surprising how easy it was when these people were supposed to have a modicum of training and organisation. It seemed they weren't expecting any attackers to simply waltz right in; all the better for Saru's team. Discretely Naruto pressed a finger against the invisible tattoo on his shoulder and pulsed his Chakra through it twice. It was the signal they had set up for when they had successfully gotten in. After he received the correct signal back he nodded once to himself before setting off into the main section of the camp.

For a while he simply mulled about, as everybody else seemed to be doing. Occasionally he would pass through tents where bandits drank, ate or fought amongst themselves. Other times he would come across another of those women-filled tents, that strange feeling pulling at his stomach again. For some reason his mind kept snapping back to how Nezumi had seemed, even if it was only a henge. The thought of the odd but quiet woman he had come to know in a similar situation seemed inherently repugnant to Naruto, but the feeling was new and he couldn't explain it.

He did his best to ignore it and focus on the mission, as he was sure his teammates were, of locating the leader. After around an hour of seemingly no progress, drifting from campfire to tent to training field, Naruto felt the beginnings of frustration creep up on him. It was seeming more and more tempting to simply flush out the leader by slaughtering a few of his subordinates. However even as those thoughts crossed his mind he was forced to dodge to the side as the tent to his right practically exploded outward, a smoking figure being quickly blasted out through the fabric.

They righted themselves in the air and landed with a crouch, a distinctly irritated expression on their scarred face. Immediately the man's eyes locked onto Naruto's figure and with a small start he blonde realised his henge had dropped due to the small pieces of debris hitting him. Those coal-black eyes narrowed before the man straightened up and motioned for the nearest of the startled bandits around him.

"Konoha Shinobi! Get them!" And with that he turned and bolted for it, no doubt using his followers as a meat shield to keep the Shinobi off him. However the only thing the men in the immediate vicinity could do was turn as not a second later each found a glowing gold chain occupying the space their heads once had. It seemed giving a bandit Chakra didn't do much for their reflexes; Naruto found that moderately interesting as he was quickly joined by Kuma walking out of the smoking wreck of the tent.

"The bad guy's getting away Kuma." Naruto could almost see the man's eye widen in childish shock behind his unsuitably ferocious mask.

"No wait! Bad man!" Immediately Kuma shot off after him and Naruto could only compare the sight to some rampaging demon. A bandit bravely tried to impose himself between the charging brute and his leader only to having his head grabbed and summarily crushed in one fluid motion without the massive ANBU slowing down for a second. Another quickly found a knee buried rather deep in his chest cavity only to be flicked to the side with the same ease one might swat an insect. There was a reason Naruto actually feared sparring against Kuma.

Apart from the man's apparent inability to hold back in any capacity he was damn near impossible to harm. For a while people thought it might be some kind of Kekkei Genkai that just toughened the man; after all Naruto had once seen Kunai literally bounce off him. However it couldn't really be confirmed as Kuma knew nothing of his origins, having been found in an underground fighting tournament in the land of hot water by an ANBU raid. Even then the young dark-skinned boy had been a threat to the people around him as mentally unbalanced as he was.

ANBU had taken that raw potential and turned it into a vicious weapon that could smash right through enemy ranks. However in all that time Kuma had somehow managed to retain a form of child-like innocence to it all. Naruto once found himself envying the man, at least until he had spotted him chasing a butterfly for a good half hour. There was innocence… and then there was stupidity and Kuma perfectly walked that thin line.

It was almost amusing to watch the brutish ANBU chase down the leader of the bandits if said thugs hadn't immediately swarmed toward Naruto. Unfortunately for them they had identified him as the less threatening target. They were right of course but that was like saying the Ichibi was a less threatening target than the Kyuubi; true… but still idiotic logic. Naruto summarily pointed out their mistake with the very pointy ends of his chains, a smile slowly slipping over his features as blood began to run through his blonde locks to stain them red.

In ANBU Naruto was joked to have red hair more often than it was blonde, in the middle of that bandit camp, among men slightly more powerful than the common thug, he showed why. His chains moved like the arms of an octopus, stabbing and slicing without Naruto even having to move at all. His arm suddenly whipped around, sword held comfortably in hand, as the clang of metal rang out. Around him a dozen kunai dropped to the floor uselessly as they were easily diverted. Naruto found his swordsmanship to be a lot easier and more natural when he was standing still; it meant he didn't mess the footwork up.

"Pfft, ANBU; we should have known your type would come sooner or later." In front of him was a tall, well-endowed young woman with cold grey eyes that burned imperiously at him. "You know, I've always hated those stupid masks of yours, always looking so emotionless and superior." She snorted derisively again as she dodged out the way of a chain erupting from the ground. "Look at you, just a stupid kid." That comment was met by quite a few more chains that forced the woman into a few rather flexible positions to escape unscathed.

"Is that all you got?" The woman's eyes snapped to the men now standing uncertainly behind the blonde ever since she had arrived. "What are you waiting around for?!" The men quickly scrambled into action at her thunderous voice.

"R-Right Arashi-sama!" However anything they might have done was rendered moot as Naruto suddenly melted into the floor like it was liquid. That set everyone on edge, including the newcomer. A moment later and her eyes widened; she moved to warn a few of the men but it was too late. Evanescent chains bust from their bodies out of the ground like clinking metal vipers only to yank them off their feet and back towards Naruto who simply stood behind them and used the three bodies as an impromptu shield against a hail of kunai and shuriken.

"Dammit, what the hell are you kid?" Arashi had never seen an ability like this in all her time, even since abandoning Yugakure with her teammates before it could be disarmed. Her answer came from the most surprising of places, namely through her chest. Her eyes widened in surprise, not having expected the chains to be able to extend so far, before coughing up blood and falling limply to the side. The remaining bandits in the area seemed to see her death and freeze before looking at the little blood-covered demon responsible.

"R-Run!" Naruto smiled beneath his chipped mask as he watched them flee from him, the limp body of one of their commanders still suspended in the air. He walked after them at a steady pace, knowing that stragglers would get picked off by the others. He simply moved further into the camp where he knew there would be more.

Orders were orders after all.

* * *

Naruto stood with the rest of his squad looking down at the two dead bodies of the bandit's leaders and the unconscious body of the last member of their team. Tako had caught him trying to subtly make his departure once the fighting began and had swiftly knocked him out. Behind them a large mass of dirty, crying and barely-clothed women huddled around awkwardly; apparently Nezumi had prioritized getting them out of the camp before they could be used as hostages. It meant little for Naruto, who was now quite thoroughly drenched in blood; it just meant more for him.

"Right, mission accomplished; now we just need to figure out what to do with the women, they weren't part of the briefing." At that point Naruto drifted out of the conversation as he was want to do when it turned to matters that didn't interest him. Anyway, every time Saru mentioned the women he thought back to their treatment and that irritating pull in his stomach started again so he did his best to tune it out. That was why he was the first to notice the last of the Shinobi on the ground stirring; he quickly helped the waking process along with a chain through the man's leg, awaking him with a start and a scream of pain.

"That wasn't really necessary Karasu." Naruto shrugged at his captain with a smile he was thankful couldn't be seen. However as he looked down at the golden chain emerging from the man's leg he winced slightly, a hand going to his temple.

* * *

"_I-I'm sorry!" Naruto backed up shakily from the young boy on the floor, looking in horror at the bright chain that was stabbed all the way through his lower leg. "I-I didn't mean to, you jumped and I thought, I'm so sorry!" His words came out as a fast jumble as his held his arms out in front of him, desperately willing his chain to retract. He wasn't very used to them at the moment and it was like they had a mind of their own. The boy on the other hand just glared up at him with a wince from the pain._

"_Shut up and go get Sensei you tomato-headed idiot! This is why I didn't want to be on the team with the stupid foreigner." Each word was like a stabbing knife to Naruto's chest and he felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He brushed his long hair away from his eyes along with the tears and turned to go find their Sensei. However to his horror he realised he was just wiping the boy's blood on his cheek that had splattered on his hand as he tried to remove his chain. He wanted to retch from the smell but kept it in as he ran off, tears still streaming from his eyes._

* * *

Naruto swayed slightly as the memory rushed through him and apparently that was enough distraction for the team that the now awake man saw his opportunity. He grabbed something out his pouch and brought it to his mouth; Nezumi's sword was off her back and nothing but a silver streak but it was too late. Her slash had simply slit open the capsule and the man quickly swallowed the powder that fell out. Even as his mouth started to foam and blood leaked from his tear ducts he managed a victorious smirk at the assembled ANBU before slumping to the side, dead.

"Well… damn." Tako's succinct words quickly summed up the feelings of the small squad. To the side though Naruto's hand clenched into a fist so tight his fingernails began to draw blood.

These damn flashbacks had just cost them an important captive and there was still nothing he could do about them.

* * *

Naruto rubbed the side of his face with a small sigh, his had an itch on his nose that he really wanted to scratch but his mask stopped him. It was testament to the success of his ANBU training that he didn't just rip the porcelain crow mask right off. No, he rarely saw the world through something other than the holes of his mask these days, although it wasn't as though they restricted his vision in any way. In fact half the time Naruto wouldn't even realise he was wearing something; it had become a part of him like his uniform, or his sword. The only times he ever would take it off these days was to sleep, and half the time he was too tired to even bother.

Right now he sat lazily in front of a medium-sized polished black stone in training ground three, his eyes scanning slowly across the names scrawled in small, tight script on its surface. There were hundreds, if not thousands of names on that stone, each a citizen of Konoha that had given their life at some point for the protection of the village. This would be where he would end up one day if he fell while in ANBU; after all ANBU that died in the field left no evidence in the form of a body.

He had only recently been told about this place, or rather overheard some other operatives talking about it. To be honest though he wasn't quite sure why he was here, slowly letting his eyes drift across the names. He was quite surprised to have already found quite a few people bearing the name Uzumaki, even though currently in the village he was the only one. He wondered if they were his relatives; however the Hokage had never told him anything about having a family. He just quietly assumed as an unnamed orphan he was given a random name and that was the end of it.

"Ryo for your thoughts?" Naruto snapped to his feet so quickly it almost looked like he body flickered on the spot, his chains snapping out at speeds that caused an audible crack. However whoever snuck up on him so silently was also quite fast and twisted their body out of the way of what could only be described as a veritable waterfall of Chakra constructs. The young blonde stopped though when he realised just who it was, an irritated growl coming from his throat as he retracted the chains.

"Tako-Senpai." The short man chuckled humorously as he glanced about at the pock-marks and small craters Naruto's 'attack' had caused in the ground.

"Damn, feeling a bit touchy today kid?" Naruto just grunted before swivelling back down into a seating position so he could look at the memorial again; luckily he hadn't damaged it.

"What do you want Senpai?" Tako, like Saru, had the annoying tendency of 'correcting' Naruto when he forgot the proper suffixes for his superiors. However in the shorter man's case those corrections would often involve introducing Naruto to some rather confusing magazines. The young blonde found he would rather have a cuff about the head and just referred to Tako properly.

"Nothing kid, nothing; I'm here for the same reason you are. For the memorial." Naruto blinked; of all his teammates and makeshift Sensei Tako was one of the more mysterious. He never really talked about himself without prompting and Naruto wasn't the type to ask so he knew little about the man. He knew at least about Kuma's origins, the reason for Nezumi's infatuation with weaponry which was due to her father, and Saru was an open book if you asked him anything. Naruto could have simply ignored the passing comment as he normally would have, choosing to remain in a more comfortable silence but for some reason today was different.

"Family?" He nearly choked on the word trying to get it out, fighting with his own stubbornness and naturally anti-social behaviour. There was also the small fact family was a rather touchy subject for the volatile young ANBU member, being an orphan. Tako just chuckled quietly though as he took a cross-legged seat beside the boy.

"On here? No." The boy simply quirked his head in the older man's direction out of confusion; picking up on it he chuckled again.

"I had family yes, but not in Konoha; coming out here reminds me of them somewhat. I suppose it's just the atmosphere." Naruto nodded slowly, although he couldn't say he understood; however there was something about his answer that niggled at the back of his mind.

"Where exactly are you from?" Even through the slight garbling of the ANBU's mask Tako had an odd accent Naruto had never heard before, and in his brief stint in the corp. he had been to quite a few countries.

"Oh, you wouldn't know it; I'm from the lands out west from the elemental nations." Naruto's eyes widened fractionally; he didn't know much about that area because it wasn't even charted on most maps. Seeming to catch his surprise Tako patted him on the back quickly. "I wouldn't put too much thought into it kid, it's not a great place; all arid land spotted with a few towns. They have Chakra, but they don't use it quite like Shinobi out here do." Naruto actually found himself wanting to ask more but Tako seemed to beat him to it.

"Out there they have something like Samurai that act as a police force for the rest of the nation. All of them are under the control of one man. He calls himself the Huangdi." Naruto raised an eyebrow, wondering why the two nations didn't have as much interactions as they did; again Tako pre-empted his questions. "There's a massive swathe of land that's practically inhospitable between the two continents; trying to bring an army across it is tantamount to suicide. The occasional traveller or small group can get through, but it lacks the resources to even be worth fighting for." He leaned back more and looked up at the sky as silence descended on them; for the first time in a long time though Naruto found the quiet to be uncomfortable.

"You said you had family?" Tako cocked his head, as if surprised Naruto was actually asking; even the blonde was surprised at himself, even if his question came out slightly gruff.

"A wife and three kids, two sons and a daughter." His answer was rather curt and once again an awkward silence bathed the small clearing. This time Naruto didn't try any further, sensing a sore spot with the little tact he had gained over the past two years. Instead he turned back to the memorial, eyes naturally skipping between names looking for those that began with U. For about five minutes neither said anything and Naruto had begun to skim through the names from around the Kyuubi attack, for which there were a lot, however suddenly his body froze.

"Uzumaki… Kushina." Tako looked around at Naruto lazily, not having quite heard what he said only to see the boy fall to the ground, hands clasped to the sides of his head. More worryingly though were the twin streams of blood trickling out the boy's ears and, although he couldn't see it, his nose.

* * *

"_That's my little Kushi-Chan, eat up." A kindly woman's voice spoke softly to him, although her face seemed blurry and undefined her long red hair was vivid and very real. He reached out with small pudgy hands to grasp at strands of it, burbling happily. However he found his little clasping hands repelled as instead a spoon was pushed in front of him._

"_KUSHINA!" Naruto's hands flailed madly as he was dragged away from the collapsing building. He didn't understand what was going on but it was loud and the ground was shaking. About him the people he had grown up knowing raced around him, those glinting steel objects they always carried around cutting through the air. He turned back, arms reached out to the man under a small pile of rubble; his purple eyes looked back to him, expression indecipherable. Then something hit the back of his head and all he saw was darkness._

"_Ha look at her, with that stupid red hair and round face she looks like some kind of tomato!" Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he looked out over the small sea of young faces staring back at her. Suddenly they all erupted into laughter at the one boy's comment; tears prickled in his eyes but he fought them back, hands slowly tightening at his side._

"_Kushina stop this!" He saw nothing but red, his hair falling messily about him as he drove another fist into the boy's stomach, a vindictive smile across his features. However he was quickly thrown off the boy by their instructor who spared no time in quickly checking over the boy's bruised and battered form. To the side Naruto just panted, feeling a dull ache begin in his knuckles. _

"_Did you hear about what she did to Kisuke? Tomato? More like some kind of Habenaro." Naruto smirked as he walked past the group of whispering students. "I knew she was trouble; you can't trust foreigners like her." Naruto nearly faltered in his step but managed to keep going, a short stabbing pain going through his chest as his pace quickened. _

"_It's okay Kushina-chan, it'll be okay." Naruto couldn't stop the flood of tears as he sobbed into Mito's chest. Why did he have to come to this place? Why did he have to be the one to shoulder this burden alone? Why him? He missed his home; he missed his family._

"_Kushina that was amazing!" Naruto felt a rush of energy run through him as he rushed into Minato's arms, letting the boy pick him up and swing him around. His brand new chuunin jacket hung off his arm and a bright gleaming smile was permanently plastered to his face._

"_Kushi-chan, over here!" Naruto's smile brightened as he spotted Mikoto waving from across the training ground. She looked particularly excited about something and was rushing across to meet him. Why was her ring finger glinting like that?_

"_Listen to your motor-mouth mother Naruto." A light chuckle managed to burst from Naruto's throat as Minato spoke from behind him only to send another wracking wave of pain through his form. However he never let go of the claw pushing through his stomach, never lost his grip with his feet. Nothing was going to harm his son. Nothing –'ttebane! _

* * *

"Aagghh!" Naruto jolted upright, panting heavily and his entire body drenched with cold sweat. After a few moments of internal panic he realised he was in his bed, in his apartment. After a few moments clambering about he found his mask on the bedside table and slipped it on, instantly calming down with the comforting and familiar presence back on his face. He had to move it to the side though when he felt wetness on his cheeks and a stinging in his eyes. He rubbed them only to look in surprise at the tears on his fingers. There was a burning pain in his heart and a throbbing in his temples and Naruto just felt overall exhausted.

This had to stop; he just couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

"Are you sure about this Kohai? It seems a fairly extreme measure and if this… condition, weren't affecting your mission capability I wouldn't even be suggesting it." Saru intoned in a mildly concerned voice; however Naruto simply met his gaze unflinchingly, reaching out for the small cloth strip in his captain's hand. They were standing in their squad's usual training ground, isolated away from the village by the surrounding forest.

"Like I said, I need a solution and there are no other options at this point." He took the small strip, which was clearly some form of thin collar and looked at it for a moment. He had gone to Saru asking for a solution to the memories of who he know knew to be Uzumaki Kushina… his mother. The man had figured out that the flashbacks seemed to be closely tied to his emotions so his best bet was to work on controlling them.

"Kuma thinks this is a bad idea." Naruto ignored the large man's unusually timid voice as he took a deep breath and quickly snapped the collar into place around his neck; it felt cool against his skin.

"There, problem solved; now how is this supposed to help?" Saru sighed at the boy's rashness before switching over into what his squad affectionately named 'lecture mode'.

"One's emotions are closely linked to their physiological state; the seals on the collar detect these internal changes and correct you if you have one of your outbursts." Naruto's eyes narrowed in irritation.

"What do you mean my outbu-gah!" Naruto's hands flew up to his neck as the collar suddenly gave him a short shock that was incredibly painful. "Ah what the he-gaagh!" Again the collar sent a wave of electricity through his body that was powerful enough to cause pain, but not to make his muscles spasm.

"Like I said, it reacts to physiological changes; the angrier you get, the more it shocks you." Saru's words seemed lost though as Naruto fell to the ground, wrestling with the collar at his neck and generally crying out in pain each time it shocked him. Saru just quietly put a hand in his palm as he turned to Nezumi who was watching the proceedings with an impassive stare.

"This may… take some time… Taichou." Saru found he could only nod at her summation; however he suddenly remembered something important and turned back to the struggling boy.

"Oh, and if you try to remove the collar-"

"Aaaaiiiiiiii!" A very uncharacteristic and remarkably high-pitched scream ripped from Naruo's throat as he tried to tear the small, seal-inscribed choker from his neck.

"-it shocks you… oh good, you figured it out." Naruto just glared darkly up at him from the floor; at least before he jerked painfully from another sudden shock.

Yes, this may take some time after all.


	6. Sixth Link

**Do you know how much it sucks not to own Naruto? A lot... that's how much.**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Naruto regulated his breathing carefully as he forced his body not to twitch even a single muscle. Right now he was in the darkened corner of an unassuming ceiling, thankful that the meagre candlelight in the room cast long and heavy shadows to hide in. Two men sat in the room, quietly discussing various unimportant topics over a simplistic kotatsu. The young blonde, now entering into his teen years at the ripe age of thirteen, had been trailing one of the men for almost a week now and he had to say it was quite possible one of the most boring assignments he had ever had.

Normally, considering his short fuse, it would have been a miracle he hadn't already attacked the man and decided to get the information that way, but it was undeniable Naruto had matured in his time spent in ANBU. Saru's idea, what had colloquially been called 'tomato therapy' due to Naruto's unwholesome reaction to people using the word around him, had been what was considered a success. The blonde's emotional control had improved and after a while, around five months, the flashbacks to Kushina's memories had stopped altogether. Naruto kept the deactivated collar on though as a reminder never to slip back into old habits.

His control wasn't the only thing to change about the boy though; he had grown up a great deal, reaching a height that could be called above average for his age group at one hundred and fifty-one centimetres. His training had given him a nice and developed muscle tone that showed clearly defined muscles without making him bulky like Kuma. His hair had also grown out, his spikes becoming longer and wavier; although over the years he was unsettled to find the occasional red hair in amongst his blonde locks. Any changes to his face though could never be seen as the boy rarely removed his mask, save when it got damaged on missions which was almost comically common.

In all one might say he had really grown into his role as an ANBU operative and had garnered respect from a number of its members for the efficient way he handled missions. However there was no changing the fact that he was on _that _squad and was bound to cause chaos wherever he went; but it had simply become a part of life. Almost as much as seeing Kuma challenging other ANBU's summons to board games, Tako being thrown out the women's hot springs or seeing Nezumi walk around the apartment complex almost completely naked.

Naruto never said it was a normal life.

He stirred slightly as the two men exchanged farewells and quickly went their separate ways. Having no intention of losing his target the blonde quickly made his own exit, using a chain from his back to lift up a ceiling panel and slip in. Normally his Chakra chains would have been terrible for stealthy missions like this due to their inherent glow. However over time Naruto had worked on it and managed to make them duller, becoming a pale grey colour; when he did this though they became woefully brittle and would likely break against bare skin. All the same they sometimes came in handy and soon Naruto was out on the roof, sticking to the shadows the crescent moon cast.

He continued to stalk his target silently, an older man with a receding hairline in a rough and worn kimono that never seemed to stray much out of the routine of his home, his bar and his business meetings. Oddly enough though tonight seemed to be an exception as he suddenly ducked down an alley, quickly followed by his unseen tail. There was another man waiting for him by an unlit door and soon both were ushered in. Interest piqued, Naruto slipped in before the door could close, nothing but a vague breeze to the people inside.

"I'm still unsure of this location Aki; so close to Konoha? Why take the risk?" It was Naruto's target that spoke, in a low voice that matched well with his hefty weight.

"They will never suspect it Matsui; anyway Konoha only keeps a fledgling guard of the towns this close to the border with Kawa no Kuni. Any greater presence and Suna might begin to take offence." The new man argued back as Naruto slipped into a more comfortable and secure position in the ceiling's corner.

"Okay, okay fine; how are they? We need them in good condition after all for this to be an efficient process." Finally Naruto's ears twitched; the reason he was even on this mission was to investigate the disappearances of a large number of farmers and villager in towns around Hi no Kuni's border.

"They're just fine, fed and kept healthy just like we were asked." The new man led Naruto's target Matsui to a door set into the floor and the two quickly descended a set of stone stes into a basement. Naruto followed but slightly more unconventionally as he slipped through hand seals and dived into the ground using "Earth Style: Subterranean Voyage". When his head poked out into the basement his eyes widened marginally; it was a much larger room than he had been expecting and it was nearly packed to the brim with people in cages of various sizes.

"Is it almost finished?" Matsui said as he looked over towards a large sealing matrix inscribed on an even larger scroll at the centre of the cages. They all seemed to be arranged around the scroll so they were an equal distance from it; the people inside looked pale and emaciated, none of them even seeming to have the energy to move or cry out. All they did was shuffle on the floor or occasionally moan and Naruto quickly realised why when he felt a slight tug on his Chakra. Whatever the seal was, it was draining the Chakra from these people.

"It should be done now." The seal was pulsing excitedly even as he spoke and Aki quickly walked over and rolled the scroll back up, carefully balancing the enormous roll of paper on his shoulder.

"Good, I hate being down here." Matsui replied, rubbing his stomach slowly where no doubt he had felt the pull of the seal.

"Well it won't be too many more now, don't worry." Naruto's face remained impassive as he sunk back into the earthen wall to report to his teammates. Something a lot bigger was going on that just kidnappings.

* * *

Naruto sat in the back of the mission briefing room, idly swaying on his feet as he tuned out most of the conversation around him; Saru would tell him what he had to do later anyway. There were more ANBU in this one room than he had ever seen before, all of them watching as the ANBU commander allocated their roles in the upcoming operation. It had turned out something _much _larger than just run-of-the-mill slave kidnappings was occurring in Hi no Kuni. Apparently a lot of operatives had corroborated Naruto's information and similar such Chakra seals were being used throughout the border towns.

Currently they didn't know their purpose but another squad had learned of a large gathering place for more than a few of their targets. They were going to go in, take out everybody there and stop what they were doing; if possible find out who was orchestrating the events. That was the jist of the meeting anyway and beyond that Naruto didn't need to know much else. Go in… kill people; that was his job and he enjoyed it, especially when the people he had to kill really pushed his limits. There was nothing Naruto Uzumaki loved than a challenging fight; the adrenaline, the rush as he felt his opponent's fear, the pain keeping it all crystal clear. It was intoxicating.

Suddenly people were moving and Naruto naturally migrated over to his squad only to be diverted by Saru towards a small group of ANBU Naruto didn't know all that well. During his five years in the corp. Naruto had worked with many operatives from veterans of decades or more to rookies on their first missions. From what he could tell he could find no real link between this group and they weren't a normal squad that he knew of.

"What's going on?" Saru just kept a firm grip on his shoulder as he guided the blonde out with the other masked men and began quickly moving through the village.

"You weren't listening again, were you." It wasn't a question and there was no safe answer so Naruto remained quiet; he still got cuffed around the back of the head all the same. It still irked the blonde that his captain could do that despite all the advances he had made in ANBU; the man just seemed too damn fast. "You and I are on the sealing team; we're to stay on standby while the others perform the sweep." Naruto blinked; however he was unsurprised to learn his captain knew Fuinjutsu. The man's calligraphy was impeccable and Naruto was still convinced he secretly knew everything.

"Why?" Saru didn't look around as they took the ANBU tunnels out of the village, skirting around the barrier surrounding the village.

"Because somebody is gathering a huge amount of Chakra in one place and they are using Fuinjutsu to do so. Konoha needs to be prepared in kind." Saru intoned in a blank, intentionally emotionless voice. Naruto growled lowly; a vast improvement on what he might have done a few years ago. He knew his captain knew exactly what he meant and was purposefully skirting the question.

"No, why am I on the team? I don't know anything about Fuinjutsu." By now the small, unorthodox squad that Naruto know knew to be Fuinjutsu users, had taken to the trees and their pace had picked up considerably.

"You may not, but…" Saru poked the blonde on the forehead, or at least on the mask's forehead "…somebody in you does." Naruto looked down, his hand clenching for a moment before he released a calming breath; he didn't like to be reminded of his mother's memories niggling at the back of his mind. He was his own person… he was his own person… he was his own person. The mantra continued until he felt himself calm.

"Maybe, but evidently those memories haven't come to me yet." He was surprised then when Saru produced a small scroll, opening it up to reveal a complex array on the paper.

"What is this?" He asked, still with that emotionless yet oddly conversational tone.

"A barrier seal." Naruto answered without even thinking; he blinked a moment later before scowling. "That doesn't mean I'll be much help in this squad; just recognizing Fuinjutsu won't do a lot. I should be with the others, on the front lines, where I'm most effective." Saru shrugged as he returned the scroll to one of his pouches that his squad mates often joked were far bigger in the inside.

"Maybe, maybe not; your Chains have far more uses than you might imagine." Naruto's scowl didn't change and he quickly turned away from the man, continuing to dash through the trees in silence for a few minutes.

"How do you know so much?" He couldn't see due to the mask but he was sure Saru smirked at him as the man tapped the side of his head knowingly. A moment later though and the man sighed, a sound rarely heard from the sagely captain.

"I knew your mother, Kushina." That little tid-bit nearly made Naruto stumble and fall off the next branch he landed on only to catch himself with a chain and swing on.

"What? Since when?" Naruto felt his temper rising slightly only to wince as he felt the phantom shock around his neck and instantly calmed himself, looking at his superior questioningly.

"I was in the class above hers in the academy and later I went on many mission with her as a Chuunin before joining ANBU. When you joined the squad I had my suspicions about your heritage due to the chains, but I thought they were a trait of your family so I couldn't be sure." Saru offered, watching cautiously as Naruto went silent for a few moments; the boy had excellent emotional control normally but he could still be temperamental and unpredictable on bad days.

"Why did you never say anything?" Saru nodded at seeing Naruto wouldn't fly off the handle at him, although the testy tone made him choose his words carefully.

"I thought it would impact negatively on our relationship as captain and subordinate for you to know." It was hard but Naruto could accept that at least; as long as he had known the man Saru had never had anything but the squad's interests at heart.

"What changed?" Saru looked at him and once again Naruto could feel the smirk behind the monkey-themed mask.

"You did; you are more mature now, better able to accept the information and think about it rationally. I couldn't say the same for your younger self, especially under the emotional stress you were already facing at the time from experiencing your mother's memories." Naruto again was forced to accept this; he recognised that the him of today was very different to the one of three years ago.

"What does this have to do with the mission?" Naruto asked, eager to move the conversation on; he felt like prolonged reminders of his mother would only induce more of her memories; a state he wasn't happy to return to.

"Your mother's chains had the rather unique property of being excellent at controlling Bijuu; I believe it was due to their density. On the night of the Kyuubi attack she was purported to hold down the beast for almost half a minute as the Yondaime performed the sealing." Naruto winced, feeling a phantom pain in his stomach as Saru mentioned that night; Kushina's memories of being impaled by a massive white claw fresh in his mind.

"And you think my chains are the same? What good would that do?" A small chuckle escaped his captain as the man leaped off another branch.

"If you had listened during the briefing you would know." Saru rebutted with more than a hint of amusement present in his voice. Naruto just growled to show his displeasure; they should make the briefings more interesting if they wanted him to listen. "The ANBU commander believes that the people we are hunting may be trying to create their own Bijuu." Naruto's eyes widened, his hand moving to the seal inscribed on his abs for a moment, a gesture not missed by Saru. "Oh no, nothing on the scale of the Kyuubi likely; Human Chakra is not dense enough to form such a creature." Saru shook his head and returned his attention to the path through the trees in front of them.

"No, it would be a smaller, but by all rights no-less dangerous creature. It wouldn't be the first time somebody has attempted it after seeing the raw power the beast's control. However they are never successful and almost always devastating; that is why we have to strike early before they can finish." Saru finished, and for the first time Naruto heard the slight twinge of nervousness in his normally carefree and sagely voice.

"So they need me and my chains…" He didn't finish, looking down as a small golden snake of links emerged from his wrist, the pointed end turning to him as if it were looking at him.

"As a precaution in case they are successful, yes." Saru looked around at him and inclined his head in what passed for a smile in the ANBU. "You shouldn't be too worried about it though; Konoha has become quite efficient at stamping out such large-scale threats as these." Naruto nodded back at him after a moment's hesitation; however at the thought of fighting a Bijuu the blonde couldn't help but feel his blood begin to boil. His hands clenched in anticipation and a small part of him actually _wanted_ them to succeed.

He didn't voice his thoughts for obvious reasons.

* * *

As Naruto stared up at the hulking mass of energy and Chakra bearing down on their small group he decided then and there that perhaps his Taichou _didn't _know everything. The operation had been going so well too; then something had happened during the sweep of the compound they found the would-be Bijuu creators in. They weren't sure what happened but the end result was… something.

"It's big." Naruto's awed words didn't seem to do it justice; the light blue, slightly ethereal mass of Chakra towering above them was at least five stories tall. It seemed to lack any defined form or shape and if one squinted they could make out the stars through its glowing, translucent body. However it had arms, big ones, that ended in very large and apparently very sharp claws that cut great gouges through the earth as it moved. The beast seemed in conflict with itself over what state it wanted to be in though as half the time the various Jutsu ANBU were throwing at it just bounced off, the other times they passed right through the creature.

It seemed confused as it thrashed about, raising up its massive, thick arms to ward off the Jutsu that didn't pass through it. It also seemed very angry, its large white eyes that were its only defining trace of a face narrowed as it let out an inhuman roar that sent shivers through every operative's spine. Naruto looked towards his captain but the man motioned for him to wait even though the blonde was itching to move and do something. He couldn't just ignore the rampaging proto-Bijuu in front of him and his blood was calling for him to get involved. After a few minutes though of the other ANBU ineffectually doing anything to stop it Saru finally gave him the signal.

The other ANBU currently battling the creature with thinly veiled fear watched in confusion and shock as a small blonde meteorite suddenly passed overhead, screaming out his excitement as long golden whips speared out of his body. The proto-Bijuu didn't seem to know what to make of the new arrival and moved one of its great lumbering arms to swat it away. It was rightfully surprised then when the swaying golden tentacles suddenly separated before spinning madly, winding their way up the thick, bulbous arm like a family of constricting snakes.

Far from the Jutsu that had been thrown at it the beast could feel every one of the chains holding its arm. A moment later when Naruto landed on the ground in front of it, its surprise was once again evident as the boy squared his feet and pulled on his chains with a grunt of exertion. The beast vainly tried to pull against the blonde but with chains emerging from his back and rooting him to the ground he proved the stronger of the two and with a mighty crash that sent the ground around them rumbling the proto-Bijuu fell to the floor with an ear-screeching cry of anguish.

Naruto on the other hand grinned as he rocketed forward all of a sudden, hoping to take advantage of the fall and pin more of the beast down. The oppressive atmosphere affecting the other operatives didn't seem to phase him in the slightest as he cried out in glee, swinging himself up and over the beast. A moment later though and his flight path was radically altered as an enormous semi-transparent hand slammed into his body. Just beginning to pick itself up the beast quickly identified Naruto as a threat and naturally tried to get the blonde as far away from it as possible.

Saru watched the small blonde blur with worry as he was sent careening back into the forest; however he turned back and continued to direct the small sealing team into their positions for when the other operative managed to suppress the creature somehow. Fuinjutsu was a delicate process and they would need all the time they could to get it set up in preparation for sealing the beast. He allowed himself to look back in the direction Naruto had been sent as a group of ANBU attempted to trap the beast in a large clay oven and roast it, apparently to not much effect.

* * *

Naruto lay in a small trench carved by his body scoring through the earth, as well as more than a few trees. His eyes were wide and dazed and his mask was completely shattered; a few cuts littered his body and he was fairly certain his left arm was broken. All the same though an all-too happy grin split his features as he staggered to his feet, ignoring how the world seemed to lurch around him for the moment. His breathing was heavy but he wasn't feeling exhausted and there was an odd tingling sensation throughout his entire body but he felt little pain. Slowly, as red began to descend over his vision and he felt the bones in his arm snap back into place, the grin on his features took on a more malicious twinge.

He didn't even realise when he started running, the world blurring around him as his periphery failed to keep up with his body. However when the beast came in to view from the treeline, a half-formed tail beginning to emerge from the base of what passed for its spine, he already knew what to do. Everybody else simply saw a vague red blur fly past but what was more important was how they felt. Everybody recognised the sensation of the Kyuubi's Chakra from that fateful day thirteen years ago; it was more oppressive even than the beast's they were fighting.

"Yahooo!" The joyous, if not slightly sadistic-sounding, cry coming from the boy dissuaded some of their fears that he had lost control but did little to ease the sudden unpleasant feeling in all their stomachs. However when hundreds of bright, glimmering chains that looked as though they had been dyed in fresh blood suddenly erupted from the boy, they felt some of their worries pass. Flying through the air like that, with chains flaying out all about him without want or reason he almost appeared to be some kind of large sea-urchin.

The Proto-Bijuu noticed his arrival too and quickly made to swat the nuisance away again; however its attempts were only met with pain as numerous chains stabbed indiscriminately into its body. It elicited glass-shattering screams of pain that caused more than a few operatives to shield their ears and look away. Naruto took the distraction in stride and grinned wolfishly as he landed on the creature's chest, the chains around him thrashing and slashing like they were possessed. Remarkably, where one sliced through the softly glowing 'skin' of the beast, it left a long gash that a blue-ish mist seemed to seep from.

The Beast seemed in great pain at that and began writhing madly in an attempt to shake off its tormentor however nothing it did seemed to dislodge the boy. In fact as Naruto slowly worked his way up the creature's body more and more chains whipped out, tying up its arms, is neck, its body, until finally, with a stifled groan, the beast slowly toppled over to once side, completely immobilised. There was a shocked and awed silence for a long few moments as the ANBU simply looked at the red-tinged boy standing atop the Proto-Bijuu, panting and grinning madly.

It was quickly broken though as Saru began barking out orders, both to the regular members to attempt to secure the limbs properly and to the Sealing team to get ready. He was worried about Naruto, especially about the deformed, spiked chains he was now producing, but that worry would have to wait until the creature was dealt with. Even so, he spared glances up at the boy, unnerved by the red-slitted eyes Naruto seemed to have gained at some point and the increasing feeling of despair he emanated with the noxious red Chakra he unconsciously released.

The beast seemed to glow brighter for a moment as the sealing team began running through their long chain of hand seals, its body becoming less solid. Greater wisps of a gaseous blue substance Saru could only assume was Chakra began to leak off of it and into the air. However just as he was beginning to think the sealing was working the Proto-Bijuu just managed to lift its head and let out a soul-shattering scream before exploding outwards. There was no great force or even a particularly loud sound, the beast simply swelled for a moment before bursting into that same blue mist only to quickly dissipate in the air.

If Saru wasn't busy coordinating the operatives around him he might have noted that the way little specks of blue light danced about for a moment before winking out of existence was rather beautiful. However his concern right now with just what hadn't left… namely Naruto. The boy was standing in place, looking around confusedly as his mutated and spiky chains swayed ominously, looking entirely like snakes waiting to come across a fresh meal. Worryingly his eyes were still coloured red and the malicious, unnatural grin on his lips hadn't left his features.

Luckily for him, lucky in that he wasn't forced to intervene and take action against his young subordinate before he became a threat, Nezumi flickered next to Naruto's side. Saru genuinely though the blonde was going to attack her then but apparently after a few words he was calmed enough for the oppressive feeling in the air to lift and the now more normal-looking chains to retract back into his body. Nezumi handed him a replacement mask the squad always carried due to Naruto's tendency to break his and that was that; a potentially catastrophic crisis was averted. Saru would have to ask Nezumi what she said later.

However right now the cogs in the older captain's head were turning fiercely; he always knew this time would come but he had hoped it would be in a few more years. With a sigh he placed his concerns to the side and turned his full attention back to the clean-up; Naruto could come later when they were back in Konoha.

* * *

Naruto clutched his head with a groan as he picked himself up unsteadily, the last few minutes a mashed-up blur in his mind as he tried to find his balance. Shakily he looked about the clearing, noting the large craters and gouge marks in the training ground that hadn't been there last time he was lucid. He looked down only to jump back in shock as instead of his normal hand he saw his fingers bent into claws, his nails lengthening and sharpened. However when he looked again it was gone and his hand was normal; although he probably stared at it for a little too long.

"Another failure it seems." Saru's monotonic voice sounded from somewhere to his left and a moment later the man, looking a little worse for wear with scratches in his uniform, appeared in the clearing, quickly followed by the rest of the squad. All of them looked a little beaten up but none of them seemed angered or upset by it; perhaps just a little weary. Nezumi seemed worst off for it, her uniform shredded and her sword having gained a few new nicks to add to the collection. Naruto supposed it was because she would be the one fending off his chains when he was in that state.

For the past week or so he had been working with his squad to start to control the Kyuubi's power within him; it was part of his life as a Jinchuuriki and Naruto had accepted that. However it turned out to be a little more difficult than they anticipated. Accessing the Chakra itself wasn't all that problematic; Naruto compared it to how he would use his chains, simply digging within himself until he felt the right signature. However the Kyuubi's Chakra was denser, angrier, it didn't respond as well to his directions and had a will of its own the blonde had to constantly work to subsume and control.

However the more Chakra he accessed the more the Kyuubi's will bled through and the harder it was to control. It got to the point where their two wills began clashing and his body, with the Chakra running rampant inside of him, went out of control and attacked pretty much anything in the vicinity with a heartbeat. It seems that was what had just happened, and it likely wouldn't be the last time; he was lucky to have his squad acting as a safety net until he could withdraw the potent Chakra back inside of him. Nevertheless he still felt enraged by his own inability to control himself and his fingers began to dig into his palms.

* * *

_Naruto breathed heavily, his eyes wide and bright as his mouth twisted into an animalistic grin that wasn't completely his own. He felt amazing, more powerful than he had ever felt as his body screamed with energy from his head to his toes. His chains swayed about him, spiked and ugly; however Naruto saw them as perfect, just right for ripping and tearing through his enemies. They felt natural, correct even, and it was almost as if they were agreeing with him. Just as they whispered to him that his job wasn't quite complete though and there were still people breathing around him a familiar face flickered into view._

"_Nezumi." His voice was gruffer than he remembered, like a much deeper voice was trying to overlap with his own. He grinned up at the woman; if anybody would understand his new power it would be his teammates; perhaps like this he would even be strong enough to take on Saru!_

"_I thought… you were stronger than this." And just like that, Nezumi's words brought his reality crashing down. His mind cleared enough for him to realise what he was doing and just whose power he was accessing and he immediately stopped. He pulled back, fighting against the smooth voice whispering in his ear and tore the power away from himself. Immediately he felt cold, weakened, but nonetheless he smiled; he was strong without the Kyuubi. He looked up and saw Nezumi nod once at him before vanishing off to help with the clean-up. _

_A strange, almost familiar feeling swelled in his chest. _

* * *

Naruto wouldn't forget that; he hated the fact he needed a reminder just to control that power and he didn't want to feel that helpless again. He shook his head and removed the haze that had come over him; his arms were leaden and some of his muscles twitched without permission but a quiet fire burned behind his eyes as he looked up at Saru.

"I'm ready to go again Taichou." The man nodded, the chips in his mask revealing that the corners of his mouth turned up ever so slightly. Naruto would master this power and for some reason he felt safe knowing that as long as he had his team to support him, he could do it.

* * *

Hiruzen sighed, blowing out a long stream of smoke from his pipe as he scanned through the reports on his desk from the recent proto-Bijuu incident. He was delighted at his troops for how they handled it even after the situation escalated and it brought a small smile to his face, like a proud grandfather reading about his grandchildren's accomplishments. However the smile turned melancholic as he read Naruto's name and just what he had done on the mission. It had been almost five years since his decision to place the boy in ANBU and so far he had seen nothing but good reports from his captain.

However as he swivelled on his chair and began rifling through a cabinet his worries began to increase. It had been a while since he flicked through Naruto's file, mostly due to other matters occupying his attention and the fact the boy mostly flew under the radar in ANBU; or at least as much as he could in _that _squad. However his eyes widened slightly as he began reading through the number of missions the blonde had performed in, not to mention the number of S and A-ranked missions alone.

Slowly the old Sandaime's already wrinkled brow began to furrow as he worried for the boy's continued mental stability if he continued to stay in the corp.


	7. Rust on the chain

**I miiight... but I might not. **

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

If he was being perfectly honest with himself Naruto was rather confused as he stood before the Hokage, or rather knelt as was correct for an ANBU to do. For one thing it was strange that he was here alone without his squad and on top of that it was rather strange for him to be here at all. The Hokage had a set of very experienced and very loyal ANBU who he dealt with directly, the ANBU commander included. Simple grunts, even with five years' worth of experience, answered to their captains who in turn answered to the commander. He was currently an operative under the pseudonym Ookami, the mask supposedly every good ANBU aspired to.

For Naruto to be kneeling in front of the Hokage himself was unorthodox as missions handed directly from the village's leader tended to be of the upper S-ranked kind. That, or it was for bad news which the aged Sandaime was known to give out directly. As Naruto tried to avoid looking up at those kindly, but age-wizened eyes he had an unsettling feeling that he was not here due to the former. Finally, after a long few moments of the Hokage looking at him and gently puffing on his pipe that quickly became awkward, the man gave him a subtle motion to rise.

"It's good to see you Naruto-kun." Behind his mask Naruto's eyes widened considerably; he hadn't heard his own name said directly to him in five years. In fact, he was so used to going by Karasu it was almost unsettling to hear his birth name. There was also the fact that while under service in the corp. an ANBU's name was tantamount to their greatest secret, even if their identity became compromised.

"Hokage-sama?" he managed in as neutral a tone as possible, if nothing else to hide his confusion that would be so evident on his features were it not for his mask. While the blonde may have had a few issues with authority and Saru was occasionally willing to let slide the occasional lack of proper suffix he knew no such courtesies would be extended when it came to the Hokage. However to his furthered confusion the Hokage seemed mildly bothered by his proper and formal greeting.

"Ah yes, Karasu-kun; I apologise for the slip." Naruto had a feeling that it was nothing of the sort but he was too confused. It hadn't taken long into his first year for Naruto to realise he had been placed in ANBU to curtail the more abrasive side of his newfound personality. He had thought the Hokage would be pleased, or at least satisfied with the changes that had been made to the blonde; even Naruto had to admit that he was thinking clearer and acting with far greater efficiency than a few years ago. He couldn't say the changes were completely welcome but there were certainly benefits to not being a murderous psychopath with no regard for human life. Now at least he was only a sociopath with very little regard for it; a marked improvement in his squad's eyes.

"How are you doing in ANBU Karasu-kun? Five years is a rather long time for any operative to stay in the service; especially for one as young as you." Naruto blinked; his confusion was subsiding as it became clear just what this meeting would be about but it didn't make his answer any more certain.

"I am fine Hokage-Sama, my mission record is well above corp. standards, my training is progressing at a rate my captain finds suitable and I have a tolerable relationship with most members." It was a clinical answer that left out the fact there were also many members within ANBU that did not tolerate Naruto's presence in the slightest. It was hardly a secret who he was to anybody that had even been on a single mission with him; he wasn't in the habit of hiding his chains after all. However despite the answer that would be met with a cheerful and satisfied nod with most members of the organisation, the Hokage once again looked displeased.

"Is there anything else Karasu-kun; how about the relationship with your squad mates?" Naruto couldn't help as his head tilted to the side ever so slightly as his eyes briefly narrowed. He wasn't sure how to answer that as it was not as though he could simply tell the Hokage that he had never felt more like he belonged to a family than when he was with his squad mates; it would be highly inappropriate. It was enough to say the realisation had shocked Naruto when it had come to him one day when training with Nezumi. Instead he simply opted for a safe answer that wouldn't reflect badly on him or the squad.

"We have an amicable working relationship." When he saw the Hokage's brow furrow ever so slightly he worried he had said something incorrect. While positive relations were highly recommended within ANBU due to the stressful line of work, close attachments and relationships were discouraged for the same reason. However there was also the high mortality rate when working within ANBU that acted as deterrent enough for close bonds to form when they could be so easily shredded on a mission.

"I see." The Hokage was quiet for a while, his hands held in front of him as he seemingly mulled things over in his mind, Naruto being forced to stand and wait rather awkwardly. Finally the Hokage looked up, an unusually serious expression on his worn features. "And how would you feel Karasu, if you were to leave the ANBU?" Almost immediately Naruto opened his mouth to protest however nothing but a rather strangled gasp escaped his throat that even the Hokage didn't seem to hear. He just stood there a few minutes, thanks to the mask appearing fairly emotionless however beneath the porcelain crow depiction he was cycling through a range of emotions.

He obviously did _not _want to leave the ANBU; for the first time he felt accepted and while the emotions were new and confusing to him it didn't mean he just wanted to discard them and move forward. On the contrary he had finally started to feel like he could really open up to his squad and for that to just end was… unpleasant. Unfortunately these passionate words were stifled by the mantra that had been pounded and drilled into his head repeatedly over the years. ANBU were tools for the villages use and when the time came, were to be discarded as such. He was a tool of the Hokage as long as he wore the mask; it was a mantra that was so deeply ingrained he found he actually couldn't find it in him to speak.

"If… that is what you think best Hokage-Sama." It came out through slightly gritted teeth and with a brief catch, but it came out all the same and Naruto found himself loathing every word. Hiruzen regarded him for a long few moments, from his stiff and proper posture to the way his hands were just beginning to clench into fists. His eyes briefly flickered to the window taking up most of the space at the back of the office where the Hokage monument could be seen looming over the village before returning to Naruto.

"Very well operative Karasu, from this moment you are released from service in the ANBU to return to the normal Shinobi corp." He stared at the blonde-haired former ANBU for a long few moments before Naruto hesitantly took off his mask and placed it on the desk. Beneath was a face that Hiruzen hadn't seen in five years and in that time Naruto had certainly grown up. Where before there was a pudgy-faced boy with wide, innocent blue eyes, now Naruto had more angular features. His eyes had grown into a colder shade, like two chips of ice, while the whisker marks that were such a prominent feature on his cheeks seemed to have deepened and become more feral.

"It's good to see you again Naruto." Hiruzen greeted as if the blonde had just stepped into the room and Karasu had walked out. His smile grew a little, stretching the wrinkles around his eyes as his entire expression seemed to soften. Despite the hardness that seemed to have entered the young Jinchuuriki's own features he could still see the little boy that had been so eager to play about in his office, occasionally donning the wide-brimmed hat of his position that was so comically oversized on his toddler head.

"Hokage-Sama." Naruto replied with a slight nod, his tone uncertain but at the same time clipped and brusque. Again it only seemed to increase Hiruzen's worry over the effect ANBU had had on the boy, perhaps permanently. Naruto had no idea his irritation was only reaffirming the Hokage's decision that taking him out of the corp. was the correct thing to do.

"Now Naruto; you coming out of the ANBU puts me into a bit of a situation as by your skills alone as shown by your mission record and your captain's reports, you easily qualify for the Jounin rank." At that Naruto felt a bit of the tension in his body release to be replaced by surprise. It felt like only yesterday Saru had made him eligible to move squads by ascertaining he was around chuunin level. He had always felt like that position would be beyond him until he was able to fight one of his squad mates and feel like an equal.

What he didn't know that, while influenced by Naruto's impressive skill at least on paper, Hiruzen's decision heavily weighed on the fact that Naruto might slaughter any Genin team he was on due to sheer boredom. Despite reports to the contrary exonerating Naruto's mental stability, without witnessing it first-hand he was heavily biased to those first days when it looked like the Jinchuuriki might kill someone for simply looking at him funny. Likewise any chuunin team he would be placed on would be heavily unbalanced by the blonde's superior skill. None of Saru's reports had ever particularly highlighted Naruto's abilities as a leader, in part because he had never been forced to assume the role.

"However Naruto-kun…" Naruto's hands clenched into fists for a moment at the rather patronising suffix; even Tako had stopped calling him that a few years ago "…becoming a Jounin is a somewhat complicated process, usually involving myself and the council of clan heads looking over your mission records and deciding whether or not you are ready to accept the position." He sighed, releasing a stream of smoke from his mouth. "Unfortunately as an ANBU, any relevant mission records are heavily classified and for mine or the ANBU commander's eyes only. There is also the unfortunate fact that you do not have any official Shinobi licence, which makes granting you the position difficult." Naruto's fingernails were beginning to dig into his palm as he forced himself not to interject and refute taking him out of the ANBU so pointlessly.

"Luckily though, the Jounin exams are in the next few weeks; any Shinobi of chuunin rank or higher is eligible to participate under my recommendation and the rank of chuunin is one I can give you immediately once you obtain a Shinobi licence." The aged man stopped for a moment with a pleasant smile, as if expecting some form of thanks. When Naruto remained stonily silent though, still in a rather stiff posture, he frowned and continued. "In any case you will not be the only one from Konoha participating this year so you will have the support of the village behind you." He smiled warmly, hoping to see a similar expression from the blonde only to get nothing.

"Is that all Hokage-Sama?" Naruto finally spoke up, once again in a curt and professional tone that carried little of the broiling emotion he felt. Hiruzen just sighed, releasing another billowing cloud of smoke as he leaned back in his comfortable chair.

"I suppose so Naruto-kun; but remember, my door is always open if you need anything." Naruto just nodded once before turning around and quickly marching out of the office, rather unused to not simply slipping into the shadows of the ceiling or flickering out of the window in a trademark Shunshin. No, now he was expected to leave like a regular Shinobi, just another face among the herd.

Naruto felt cold inside at the thought.

* * *

Deep inside the training ground area, close to training ground forty four which most Jounin normally avoided anyway, people skirted around a particular clearing. It was mostly because the noises emerging through the treeline weren't all that inviting as the sounds of crashing trees, the ground being rent open and thunderous crashes echoed into the surroundings. It didn't help that an aura of anger, rage and fury weighed down on anybody that even tried to approach like a physical force. Many wouldn't admit it but it brought up old memories of the Kyuubi attack and that was reason enough for them not to approach.

In the centre of it all though, surrounded by the destruction he had wrought, Naruto snarled as his chains ripped another tree right out of the ground before throwing it like a petulant child might a plate. It crashed through several other trees before falling over with a loud thud, expanding the already tortured clearing. Naruto panted, fatigue beginning to set into his muscles and the first signs of Chakra-exhaustion sinking in. However he still wasn't satisfied as he suddenly growled deep in his throat, the orange aura shimmering around his body condensing about his fists, only to launch himself across the open grass at a boulder.

His fists smashed right through it, his momentum carrying him a few more yards before his feet brought him to a halt, but not before digging shallow trenches through the earth. Around him little pieces of rocks fell to the ground with a satisfying clatter as the cloud of dust he had created slowly dissipated. With a scream of frustration he looked up to the sky and released a soul-piercing roar from deep within himself that likely would have had ANBU sprinting to his location if training with the Kyuubi's Chakra hadn't recently become a common event with his team.

Randomly his thickened, spiked and generally more vicious-looking chains lashed out at everything around them. They sliced through the ground and the trees, grasped at rocks that they quickly flung haphazardly in any direction and generally just allowed Naruto to vent his frustrations. Finally though, when it all caught up with him, the orange aura slowly dissipated, his chains reluctantly retracted and he fell onto his back, breathing heavily through eyes blurred with stinging tears.

"I think you were right Saru-Taichou, only Karasu could mess up a training ground as badly as Kuma." Tako's familiar voice floated across the now still air of the wrecked clearing, causing Naruto to blink and crane his neck from his position on the ground. Sure enough when he looked over he spotted his entire team standing across from him at the treeline, although thanks to his little tantrum the boundary between forest and clearing was slightly more blurred. Quickly he clambered to his feet and rubbed his eyes as subtly as he could, realising he must look like a petulant child throwing a fit right now.

"Saru-Tai…" Naruto trailed off as he realised something very important; none of his teammates were wearing their masks. They still donned their customary uniforms, only without the pale grey body armour that went with it. It was a startling revelation, having worked, ate and lived with these people for so long and never having actually known what they looked like.

"Karasu, or should I call you Naruto now?" The blonde nearly flinched; hearing his own captain say his name was like the final nail in the coffin; he really was out of the ANBU. "You don't need to call me Taichou anymore; I had thought you'd be happy about that. Although for security reasons, I'd ask you still call me Saru." The surprisingly kindly looking man with a thin, scraggly moustache and narrow, pale eyes offered with a knowing smile.

"AH! Kuma doesn't want to see Karasu go!" Naruto was suddenly assaulted as the massive man that had previously been standing behind his companions shot forward, his small, innocent eyes tearing up as the bulky ANBU wailed loudly, arms opened to crush Naruto into a hug. He was stopped in his tracks though as Tako grabbed the man by the back of the collar and in an improbable display of strength given the much smaller man's size, held him back.

"Now now Kuma-kun, Naruto had to go his own way eventually; it was just sooner than we were execting." Tako explained like a parent might to their sobbing child before offering a rather saddened smile to the blonde. Tako wasn't what Naruto had been expecting; for one the man was bald which he had previously kept hidden with his ANBU cloak's hood. He also had an oddly styled bushy moustache that arced out on either side of his face.

"Tako… is right." Finally Naruto let his eyes drift over to Nezumi, taking in her half-lidded, bored-looking violet eyes and the way her eyebrows had almost a zig-zag to them. Without her ANBU chest armour her large bust pressed against the simple black vest they all wore. However when she looked over at him her gaze softened considerably as a small smile pulled at the edges of her lips. "But… that doesn't mean… he is not part of the squad." She intoned quietly, confusing the blonde a great deal as he turned back to Saru.

"You aren't here to say goodbye?" Saru cocked an eyebrow at the young Jinchuuriki, a bemused expression crossing over his features.

"Of course not; even if Hokage-Sama decided to remove you from the ANBU, you will always be a part of this team. What gave you that idea?" Saru offered as if it were the most obvious piece of information in the world, leaving Naruto overwhelmed. "Plus, if we didn't I fear for the safety of training grounds everywhere." He added with a small chuckle, causing Naruto to look down at the ground and grumble unintelligibly. When he looked up he suddenly found Tako next to him arm slung around the slightly shorter blonde's shoulders.

"Personally, I say this calls for a celebration; it's not every day our Karasu-kun grows up and becomes a Jounin now is it?" If Naruto wasn't already exhausted from venting his anger on the surrounding plant life he might have tried to spear the man for the comment.

"I'm not a Jounin; I have to take an exam first." It sounded rather odd, having to take an exam to become the vaunted rank; although he supposed it wouldn't be a pen and paper test like he might think. However at the grumbled comment his teammates turned to look at one another with amused expressions before Saru and Tako began laughing. Even the corners of Nezumi's impassive lips turned up slightly as Kuma laughed along purely because everybody else was.

"I don't think you have anything to fear on that end Naruto as long as you remember everything we've taught you." Saru informed him in his usual sagely manner as he wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. However he thought better of it after a moment and added in as an afterthought. "Just don't accidentally kill one of your comrades; it may not reflect too well on you." He said it only half-jokingly before sighing softly. "But I think I agree with Tako for once; as you are no longer our Kohai, a drink is perhaps in order."

That was how Naruto found himself surrounded by his former teammates in a small bar near the seedier area of Konoha that the older ANBU often frequented. Having seen the results of alcohol intoxication before Naruto had steered clear of the drink out of confusion for why they would want to act in such a way. However with Kuma on one side and Saru on the other in the spongy booth the clear and rather innocent-looking liquid placed in front of him in a small saucer didn't look to be a request. After a moment of hesitation where the blonde simply swilled the Sake around the little white plate he finally just shrugged, tipping it all down his throat in one.

If his teammates were expecting much of a reaction to the blonde's first drink they were rather disappointed. The burn as the drink passed down his throat wasn't much of an issue as Naruto had recently faced worse when training in the Kyuubi's Chakra and as an ANBU he wasn't exactly the type to show discomfort or pain. Instead he focused on the flavour of the rice-wine, the faint hints of fruit in the surprisingly dry liquid. For a moment he felt warmer, like his blood had been raised a few degrees, but it passed and soon he felt no different. He looked up to notice the squad staring at him expectantly

"What? It's… good?" His teammates all looked at their own drinks with a frown before necking it themselves, the sight looking rather comical as Kuma struggle with his tiny saucer. So slowly the evening progressed into night as Naruto sat among his former squad, occasionally drinking and watching them do the same. They would talk too, mostly about missions they had been on, or amusing anecdotes from their time out of missions. One common vein was that all their stories revolved around Naruto in some compromising or embarrassing moment, or at least his squad trying to get him into one.

As the night progressed Naruto caught himself wearing an uncharacteristic and vaguely melancholic smile, only to quickly correct himself. During one telling of Tako trying to convince Naruto to peek on the women's hot-springs with him only to be caught by Nezumi and proverbially left to the dogs, the dogs in this case being the furious Kunoichi on the other side of the fence, Naruto actually laughed. It was something the blonde had rarely done when not soaked in blood; he remembered the moment well, especially Tako's screams as the man was trodden into the dirt by a crowd of towel-clad women as Naruto watched on from a nearby tree.

To his teammates consternation though, as the night progressed Naruto showed no signs of becoming drunk. He had almost the same amount of Sake as Kuma, having come to appreciate the sweet taste over the evening, and even the muscle-bound ANBU was beginning to look tipsy. By now Tako was sprawled out on the table, drool slowly leaking from the corner of his mouth, Kuma was giggling to himself for no discernable reason and Saru, while outwardly appearing fine, was slurring his words slightly. Nezumi was the most amusing; the woman was simply staring ahead, her body swaying slightly before she would correct it with the smallest squeak of a hiccup.

It was Saru who finally called it a night, still apparently disgruntled at being drunk under the table by hus former Kohai; he bid farewell to the others, promising to do it again as he slung Tako of his shoulders and walked out, visibly trying not to sway. The man certainly had good self-control which Naruto could attest to as he continued to slowly sip at his saucer. Kuma, apparently taking his Taichou's leave as some kind of sign, stumbled out of the booth. Lacking his usual modicum of self-control the enormous man managed to break the bar's door frame slightly as he tried to walk right through it causing Naruto to grin.

However as he looked around again he noticed Nezumi still staring ahead, her eyes narrowing and widening intermittently as he body continued to sway. She made no sign of moving and Naruto could only sigh to himself, wondering if all of this would have been better if he could in fact become drunk. Still, in a rare moment of genuine human compassion that most though the generally blood-stained Jinchuuriki lacked, he manage to guide Nezumi out of the bar. The woman seemed in a complete daze and didn't seem to really understand her surroundings.

Thankfully hauling her back to her apartment was rather simple, even if it involved a lot of hand-holding that Naruto could have done without. He was tempted to carry the woman by his chains but one, he didn't know what _she _might do and two, he wasn't sure how the villagers might react to him making off with a rather buxom woman this late at night when she was so obviously dazed and confused. Instead, using a rare bit of foresight and common sense, Naruto took Nezumi through the back alleys and quieter streets he knew like the back of his hand until he was back at their apartment complex.

With a tinge of irritation Naruto realised that as a now former-ANBU, he might be forced to leave this place, despite it being his home for the past five years. Still, pushing his thoughts to one side for the moment so that he didn't accidentally shred a building in his frustration, Naruto quickly half-guided, half-pushed Nezumi up the stairs and through her doors. It had become second nature now for him to avoid the various traps she kept around her apartment. In fact the woman had seemed rather eager to show him them, as she was when 'teaching' anything to her self-proclaimed student.

Thankfully the older ANBU operative seemed gain some semblance of coherence as she spotted her bed, a grateful murmur escaping her lips. In an obviously practised motion that no amount of alcohol could steal from her muscles' memory, Nezumi slipped her sword from her back, span it once and planted it straight into the wooden floor. A few similarly-shaped indents in the floor showed that it wasn't the first time she had done this. However embarrassingly Naruto also bore witness as the woman suddenly shrugged off all her clothes in what seemed like one unbroken motion.

It became very apparent Nezumi wasn't one for underwear as Naruto quickly turned away, a strange, unwelcome feeling tugging at his stomach. However as he made to leave a slender, deceptively delicate hand snaked around his wrist and pulled him back. Instantly a threatening amount of chains burst from his back, all angled towards the perpetrator a mere hair's breadth from her skin. Naruto breathed heavily for a moment, his eyes wide as far too much of his body was touched for him to feel comfortable.

His face was in the awkward position of being pressed directly into the soft flesh of Nezumi's right breast and all he could feel was her odd warmth and the sound of her steady heartbeat. Slightly above him the woman muttered unintelligibly in her sleep as he body continued to curl around Naruto's to the point where his chains was vibrating from him fighting his instincts not to go full hedgehog on her. After a few moments though he calmed, the warmth from the older woman's body and the soft comfort of her chest lulling him into a drowsy state. Slowly the chains pulled back, returning to his body where their soft glow could no longer light up the room.

Now in the darkened apartment, with Nezumi hugging him to her naked body like some kind of child's plaything ,Naruto had to admit that maybe this wasn't so bad. He would vehemently deny it and would be gone long before Nezumi woke up, but it definitely wasn't _not _good.

* * *

Naruto stood in front of the mirror in his apartment, or at least his apartment for the time being, clad in nothing more than his ANBU leggings. Today he would have to leave for the Jounin exams but he ran into the small problem of realising he had nothing to wear. It had never been a particular problem before as he always just wore the ANBU uniform; however he couldn't wear that anymore so he was put in a dilemma. It had been an awkward affair at the clothes and supply shop as he, having no prior experience shopping never mind for clothes, had no idea what do do.

In the end he simply ended up buying a load of random bits of clothing around his size that were now strewn about on the floor around him. He felt fairly safe just wearing his ANBU pants tied around his ankles with his normal shin-height sandals as that was innocuous enough. However for the rest of it he just snarled at, wishing that he didn't have to worry about such stupid things. Quickly he just shrugged on a mesh shirt like the ones Nezumi wore under her uniform only to realise he now looked like a male stripper from one of the underground slave rings they would bust.

To fix it he quickly pulled on a pale green shirt with a black stripe running down the centre only to get frustrated by the sleeves. He messed about with it for a few moments before growling, simply ripping off the left sleeve entirely, leaving the mesh shirt to poke out halfway down his bicep. The right sleeve was far too long though and dangled past his fingers but looking in the mirror Naruto just decided to leave it, tying his new headband that he previously had little use for around his neck.

He looked down at the chuunin jacket lying limply on the floor to his right only to sneer and ignore it entirely. He didn't want to wear something so bulky and movement-restricting anyway. Instead he grabbed his ANBU arm guards and strapped them on, in the case of his right one, under the sleeve. He remembered how often they had come in handy deflecting swords and kunai when they got too close and didn't want to art with them. Finally he looked back in the mirror, deciding that this was good enough.

However as he looked he noticed his face, the face he hadn't really paid much attention too for the past few year. A thought occurred to him about how he was supposed to look; it had never mattered too much when hiding behind his mask. Right now it was set into an irritated scowl which he quickly straightened out until it was neutral and impassive like how people expected an ANBU's features to appear. After a moment he experimentally tried making a smile only to get a rather awkward-looking affair with the corner of his lips turned up and twitching. He quickly discarded it and ran a hand through his hair with a disgruntled sigh.

That was another problem; in his time in ANBU his hair had grown quite long, inching down past his neck at the back and beginning to shadow his face at the front. Likewise, two bangs had begun to form on either side of his face that rather irritated him when he turned his head without the protection of his mask. He tried sweeping his hair back with his hand and for a moment it was successful, at least until a single lock fell back down, falling almost to the bridge of his nose across his face. He growled deep in his throat before deciding to just tie up the bangs with a bit of bandage he had lying around.

Looking at his face now, beside the deep and angry-looking whisker marks on either cheek, he could almost compare his hair to that of the old clan-styles before the village system. Saru had shown him a lot of pictures from back then as he had been rather insistent Naruto learn at least a bit about history. He couldn't find it in himself to care though as he struggled to make that one stubborn lock of hair fall in line with the rest before crying out in frustration. A chain lashed out and smashed straight through his mirror as he scrabbled ineffectually with his blonde hair for another few seconds.

"Ah Kami damn it!" He finally gave up and simply left it how it was before moving to the window and jumping out; he would sort out his appearance later.

Not that it would matter much; his hair had a tendency to fall flat when he was soaked in blood anyway.


	8. Eighth Link

**I, don't ooown it. I, I don't oooown it!**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

It was a set of rather confusing and fast-paced events that saw Uzumaki Naruto stood on a barren dirt track in the middle of Kusa no Kuni holding a fluffy and rather nervous-looking white rabbit. The petit, effeminate creature was staring up at him with innocent black eyes, occasionally shivering as it caught the painfully neutral gaze that the cold blonde was returning it. He was sure that if his former squad mates could have seen him then, holding what by all rights should have been some young girl's pet, he would be the butt of the team's jokes for the following weeks.

As it was he was currently charged with protecting the rather pathetic creature, naturally in an effort to make the first test of the Jounin exams more difficult. Because for what other reason would Naruto have accepted taking responsibility for the all too fluffy animal than lack of choice? Yes, Naruto was currently staring down an overgrown path in a darkened corner of the famously over-sized forests Kusa Shinobi seemed to be able to navigate effortlessly. He was here because this was where the bi-annual Jounin exams took place… so again, lack of choice.

The heat within the jungle-like environment was stifling and he had seen a few prospective Jounin from Kumo forced to remove their bulkier clothing. They were used to the frigid temperatures of mountainous regions, not the sticky, humid heat of such thick and overbearing jungles. Even in his admittedly light clothing Naruto found himself with a noticeable sheen of sweat without needing to exert himself at all. It was unpleasant and as far as Naruto was concerned, the sooner he could get back to the familiar, less humid heat of Hi no Kuni the better.

His reception in the exams was mixed; few seemed to recognise him at first and a few even ridiculed his presence, citing the fact that a 'pipsqueak' like him had no right to be a the 'big-boy' exams. He had quickly altered their perceptions on that matter, nearly getting himself thrown out of the exam in the process. Afterwards though, when rumors began to spread that Kusari no Naruto was present at the exams, he received a much wider berth. On the flip-side though, many of the prospective Jounin stared at him with more calculative, or even hungrier looks, no doubt looking to prove themselves.

The reactions from his own village's Shinobi were less mixed, they simply chose to ignore his presence, as if not acknowledging him would simply make him vanish. Luckily there were few specimens from any of the villages present as the Jounin exams were a much more selective affair than the, in comparison friendlier, chuunin exams. Of course, irritatingly, there seemed to be one glaring exception to the rule.

"So what do you think this'll be Gaki?" Naruto's eye twitched as the voice that had been pestering him for the past two days decided to speak up. The purple haired woman, whose smirk he could practically feel on the back of his head, also took the opportunity to lean into him as she was want to do, pressing her sizable assets up against his back. Thankfully years of desensitization from such things due to Nezumi quelled any less-than-professional reaction he may have had; but it was still annoying.

"I do not know, the animals suggest some aspect of protection so we will likely either be pitted against one another or against some form of proctor." The former seemed the more likely in his mind; Kusa had already shown themselves to be rather hands-off in their approach to the exams. The first real test they had issued was simply finding the start-line to the first official portion of the exam. Presumably they were supposed to use information gathering skills to glean the information so naturally Naruto had threatened the nearest proctor he could find until the man told him. People tended to speak when suspended over ravines by their feet, only held up by insubstantial constructs of Chakra.

"Ah, you really need to learn to lighten up Gaki; this 'stern and proper' attitude's gonna add years onto you." There was a pause as the woman seemed to look up in thought, a barely restrained grin on her impish features. "Although, I suppose you could use 'em eh shrimp?" Again Naruto's eye twitched rather violently as he methodically counted backwards from ten; an effective technique he had used to quell his anger in the past.

"Mitarashi, the 'stern and proper' attitude you refer to is the only thing stopping me spearing you into a tree by your throat." Anko only looked amused as she whirled around on one foot so she was in front of the young blonde, crouching slightly so that they were around eye-level. She too had a small animal tucked under her arm, a terrified little cat that was shivering like it had been rolling around in a snow bank.

"See! That's more like it; you don't need to hold back around me kid." She seemed rather proud of herself as she looked off into the foreground, putting on the air of somebody accomplished and wise. "If I could snap Nai-chan out of her funk, I can do the same for you; count on it." She grinned broadly, the same smile that would set men that knew her in the village cowering in fear of whatever dastardly plans she brewed behind that innocent façade of hers.

"Wonderful, I look forward to it." Naruto managed in a perfect monotone, his eyes lidded and disinterested in an attempt to make the woman lose interest in him. Saru's partings words about not killing his comrades from the village played in his head over and over. It seemed not to be though as Anko smiled like she hadn't heard the complete lack of anything resembling enthusiasm.

"You'll see Gaki, stick with me and I'll make an upstanding man outa you yet." She stuck her thumbs in the lapels of the over-sized trench coat she wore, pushing them out like Naruto had seen some merchants do to their jackets.

"I'm sure." Luckily he was saved from further interaction as a Kusa Jounin finally turned up, apparently having decided that all of the Jounin-prospects that would arrive, had. Anko skulked off, mingling with the crowd of chuunin that were milling about on the wide dirt path and leaving Naruto alone amidst a crowd of unfamiliar faces.

"Ahem." The old, grey-haired Jounin that had walked out in front of him caught everyone's attention as he cleared his throat, his voice sounding rough and hoarse. "I figure everybody's pretty much here, so we'll get started." He looked lazily about at the assembled group, absently adjusting the loose headband around his arm. "As you may have noticed, you were assigned a small creature to protect." He loosely motioned to the harmless little creatures they all held. "If that animal dies, you are disqualified from the exams immediately." A few of the more bloodthirsty in the crowd looked down at their quivering animals in disappointment.

"You managed to find this place one way or another, so you are ready to proceed with the exams." He motioned to the darkened path in front of them absently. "Down there is an obstacle course of a sort; completion of the first exam is contingent upon making it through both alive, and with your passenger unharmed. However, only the first thirty-two participants to finish will be allowed to advance, if that many actually make it that far at least. There is no killing in this portion of the exam, however that courtesy does not extend to your fellow participants' passengers; other than that, do not leave the marked path. This will also result in immediate disqualification, proctors will be constantly monitoring you for breaches in these rules." Hearing all this Naruto subtly slipped backwards, slightly behind the line of eager chuunin, his chains quietly extending from his body.

"Alright, you will go on my signal." The man brought his fingers to his lips at the same time Naruto began maneuvering his chains into position, a devious grin on his features that would have made Tako proud. The proctor looked at them all one last time, eyes lingering on the slightly concealed Naruto for a moment, before letting out a piercing whistle.

"Go!" A few things happened at once in that split moment; the faster of the Jounin immediately took off, using their build and inherent speed to give themselves a head start. At the same time Naruto's chains suddenly shot down, piercing the neck of over ten different little creatures without remorse and simultaneously knocking the same amount of people out of the running. Apparently he wasn't he only one with this kind of pre-emptive idea though as he saw a blue flash of electricity from somewhere to his left. He ignored it though as he used the other chains he had implanted into the ground in a vaguely slingshot-esque manner to launch himself forward at high speed.

He made sure his passenger was safe by placing it in a sort of make-shift backpack made out of some of the finer chains he could make that served to both hold and restrain the small bunny. His malicious smile only grew at the curses and shouts of outrage that slowly faded into the background as he sprinted down the overgrown road in front of him. However even as he turned around the first bend, his sixth-sense forced him to his knees as he barely skidded beneath the humming blade of a Kumo chuunin. Making a split second decision Naruto used his forward momentum to spin, releasing two chains from his hips that lashed out in a circular motion with him.

Instantly the chuunin found himself unexpectedly tangled up in the glowing golden restraints before being picked up and promptly thrown across the path into a sturdy-looking tree. Naruto didn't look to see if he got up and continued on his sprint, never having lost pace. It was mostly thanks to Nezumi's training; the woman was rather obsessed with never breaking the flow of motions. She believed that everything done in life should be a simple transition from one event to the next without faltering or hesitance. Or at least, that was how Naruto understood the woman; she didn't tell him in so many words but then again, she didn't say that many words to begin with.

The first 'obstacle' that Naruto came across seemed to just be a long pool of water blocking the path, rimmed on both sides by dense foliage that left no path but forward. Not trusting the assumed simplicity of the task Naruto made sure to jump as far as he could before landing atop the 'water' in a crouch a few meters from the end of the pool. It turned out to be the right decision as the water was actually some kind of viscous adhesive that quickly tried to suck him under despite his using Chakra to stay afloat. He was forced to wade through it almost painfully slowly by the end, but he did at least reach the end, pulling himself out with some difficulty.

He continued on his sprint down a seemingly straight path but after a whole minute of straight sprinting he began to grow suspicious of just how long it was taking to reach any more obstacles. He stopped for a moment to look back, only to see nothing down the long stretch of road he had come from and nobody following him either; that was suspicious in of itself. There were over a hundred prospective Jounin in these exams, he would have expected some to catch up. It was only when he looked to the side and saw a suspiciously familiar giant mushroom did he realise what had happened, quickly bringing his hands into a ram seal.

"Kai." The world around him shimmered for a moment as he repressed and flared his Chakra in quick succession. It seemed just in time too as he spotted a pair of Iwagakure Shinobi charging him down, having caught up after the pandemonium at the start line. He almost reacted too slow as the larger one of the two, a burly looking teen with a round nose, chubby cheeks and a ragged yellow scarf, ran through hand seals in a blur of motion.

"Doton: Dochuubaku!" He shouted, slamming his hand into the ground mid-run and dragging it through the earth like some kind of meaty plough. The effect was instantaneous, a ripple that thundered across the ground towards the blonde, tearing up the earth and generally carving out the ground in a bid to catch him. He reacted on his instincts and jumped up and away from the dangerous technique that would have swallowed him, only to realise that this was their goal. The smaller of the two, either a boyish-looking girl or an effeminate-looking boy, used the large one's shoulders as a stepping stone to launch themselves into the air at the blonde, fists encased by a sturdy layer of tough stone like some strange gauntlet.

Naruto wanted to groan mid-air as he actually recognised who he now knew to be a girl; she was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter Kurotsuchi. All ANBU were briefed on the immediate families of the various village leaders on the continent so that they wouldn't accidentally kill them and cause an international incident. The Sandaime was very particular with that sort of thing. Still floating some ways off the ground as he reached the zenith of his leap, Naruto wondered if just roughing her up counted. His groan was because he couldn't help but think it was so much easier being in ANBU, he was just pointed in a direction and told to kill.

He decided that he wasn't going to jeopardize his role in these exams, mostly because he never wanted to participate in anything like them again, just because one girl had connections. To be honest she had a rather sound plan, without leverage most Shinobi were useless in the air and incredibly vulnerable to attack. Even Naruto was reasonably unprotected in the air as it was very difficult to manipulate his chains beyond stabbing and curling which made airborne combat awkward. Luckily Naruto didn't have to be in the air if he didn't want to be.

Seeing as the earth technique from the bulkier Shinobi had passed beneath him harmlessly Naruto shot two chains out of his feet, using them to rapidly drag his body down and out the way of Kurotsuchi's fists. The girl was obviously unprepared for the quick reaction; Saru had always told him his on-the-fly tactics were praise-worthy, even if he never actually praised him. She was doubly surprised when he grabbed her ankles on his way down, using his new found leverage to throw her rather roughly into her accomplice. Both were bowled to the ground as Naruto landed in a tucked roll, a smirk on his features as his chains lashed out again.

They wrapped around both unprepared Iwa Shinobi's ankles before picking them up and promptly tossing them across the path into a copse of trees. The simple and familiar action allowed Naruto to breathe a nostalgic sigh; that had been one of his favourite things to do in ANBU. He and Kuma had even made a game of it once; let's see who can throw bandits further. Naruto was proud to say he only lost two out of three times; proud, because Kuma could throw people like they were kunai.

His moment of reminiscence nearly cost him as a blue crackling blur shot by, obviously trying to sever his chains. Luckily he retracted them into his body with a crack, nearly taking a step back from the recoil. The blue blur quickly resolved itself as it skidded to a stop, revealing itself to be a Kumo Shinobi with short-cut blonde hair a few years older than Naruto. She was wearing the traditional white flak jacket more like a bustier, accentuating her growing curves, and had the most piercing set of cold blue eyes he had ever seen. She seemed to give him a once over, obviously sizing him up, before her eyes narrowed and she took off in a sprint again, her window having closed the moment she missed Naruto's chains.

Naruto wondered if she decided against fighting him because of his reputation or because she didn't think him worth it. With a small and uncharacteristically excited grin he ran after her, deciding there was only one way to find out. She had the height advantage and was a bit faster than the smaller blonde, but he used unusual tactics like using his chains to drag himself forward off trees, keeping them roughly the same distance apart. He only grew more enthralled as his attempts to ensnare her or tangle up her feet were rebuked by her buzzing sword, sheathed in raiton Chakra.

He would have gone for her passenger, but that would have ended things a bit too quickly for his liking, plus he couldn't see the little animal. Correction; as she turned a bend, launching herself off a tree trunk to flip over another attempt to catch her, he spotted a small bird with its wings tied together nestled safely in her cleavage. The little colourful avian didn't appear to be remiss over its lodgings and was trilling with excitement with every powerful leap or a sudden blurred dash.

Naruto lost sight of her when they both entered a pitch-black tunnel carved into a cliff-face, only the glow of his chains lighting his way. However his attention was quickly diverted as his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of various mechanisms and catches being released. Diving to the floor in a roll proved smart as he heard the whistle of kunai slicing through the air above his head. He got to his feet, chains suddenly forming a vaguely dome-shaped perimeter around him as he ran. There were a few more instances of these traps, including a rather startling moment where the entire cave was lit up in flames, but Naruto was able to bat the worst of it off and dodge the rest. He eventually emerged from the tunnel with the blonde-haired Kumo Shinobi nowhere in sight; but he would be looking out for her.

"Come on Gaki, no slowing down now!" In his brief pause at the exit to the tunnel he felt somebody hold his shoulders before using the hand hold to vault over him. He instantly recognised the annoying, playful tone and looked up only to discover the fact that many had speculated but few had ever proven. Mitarashi Anko did not wear underwear beneath that skirt. Snapping out of his daze and the unusual but not altogether unpleasant sight, Naruto shook his head before grimacing. He quickly took off after the laughing violette, her bobbing, pineapple-shaped pony tail almost mocking him as she seemed to purposefully keep a fixed distance between them.

She was obviously faster and more agile than him yet for whatever reason didn't just race ahead, choosing instead to simply pace him, occasionally turning and running backwards for a bit with a mocking grin. She seemed to effortlessly float through the obstacles, her body twisting into elegant but unnatural shapes that seemed to defy the anatomy of regular humans. However through it all, even when a blade skimmed so close to her flesh it was like she was being shaved, she kept a light-hearted and care-free smile on her face.

"That was pretty funny, what you did at the starting line; I'm glad I decided to slip into the back of the pack." She causally struck up a conversation as she casually leaped across another strange purple-hued plant that seemed intent on capturing anybody who came near it with sticky, adhesive vines. It was like some kind of scaled-up Venus flytrap with tentacles and although they were more of a nuisance than a threat there were a lot of them. "But then, you wouldn't have done something like that to little ol' me would you?" She pouted in a facsimile of innocence that would have fooled lesser men, however Naruto simply maintained his scowl as he shredded another plant without remorse.

"Aww, now you're just being no fun; and here I thought I would give you the honour of having Anko-Sama keep you company." She suddenly dropped back to keep pace with him, an infuriatingly mischievous grin alighting on her features. "A lot of guys would kill for that same honour you know, Gaki." Naruto wanted to snort but didn't give her the satisfaction of rising to the baits; he hoped if he ignored her she would get bored and leave. The opposite seemed to be true though and soon Naruto was having to almost constantly repeat the mantra of not hurting people from his village in his head.

In fact, he was tempted to try and kill her animal right now, just to get her out of his hair. Technically it wouldn't be hurting her, as long as she didn't put up too much of a fight. Giving her a subtle, critical eye he at least gleaned her build was more for flexibility and speed than power. He wasn't sure how that would fare against his chains' almost unlimited flexibility. However he could see in the occasional paranoid glance that she wasn't one to so easily lower her guard, even with her supposed lackadaisical attitude. The main problem was that, once again, he couldn't spot her passenger; the little quivering cat was nowhere to be seen. Thinking back to the Kumo Kunoichi from earlier Naruto's unconsciously drifted to the woman's chest before looking away as she caught him staring.

"Oho, I didn't realise you were that kind of guy Gaki; more an upstairs than a downstairs type eh? Should'a known." Naruto groaned internally at unwittingly giving the boisterous Kunoichi even more ammunition to annoy him with. Thankfully, before the idea of ending his misery, mostly by ending her, became too prominent a thought in his mind, they found the finish line to the obstacle course. She and Naruto were eighth and ninth over the line respectively, behind a few Kusa chuunin, an Iwa Shinobi, two Suna chuunin and that Kumo Kunoichi from before.

There wasn't much talking between the various groups, even as Anko went about making a nuisance of herself and earning her the ire of basically everybody there, so the remaining time passed in relative silence. Naturally, once she found out that nobody else was going to talk to her, she began bugging Naruto for the rest of the time. He wasn't sure how she came to that conclusion though as he wasn't exactly talking to her either. In fact, she seemed rather content to simply talk at him, as if she could hear some kind of telepathic side to the conversation nobody else could.

As the rest of the chuunin trickled in over the finish line, looking increasingly haggard and worn, he heard her talk about numerous topics, all without him uttering a word in return. There were numerous mentions of various nicknames people that Naruto didn't know like 'Nai-chan', 'smokestack', 'hypochondriac' and 'cyclops'. The blonde might have felt sorry for them if he had that much empathy left in him; he couldn't imagine having to put up with the dango-obsessed nut on a daily basis. Luckily, the Anko-induced torture ended as the last two chuunin crossed the finish line, a particularly tired-looking duo from Konoha Naruto vaguely remembered from his times passing through the gates.

"Did we make it?" The Spiky-haired one with a bandaged nose asked hopefully, smiling in relief as the Kusa proctor, who had gotten there suspiciously quickly and without a mark on him, nodded. He high-fived his friend, and despite their worn and exhausted appearance they looked genuinely happy.

"Well well, Izumo and Kotetsu actually made it somewhere in the exams this time around." Both men paled at the sickly-sweet voice that wafted over to them from the crowd of Jounin prospects.

"A-Anko-san, you made it through too?" The woman seemingly materialised behind the two, a bright gleam in her eye as she wrapped an arm around their shoulders.

"Of course; did you doubt me?" Both paled even further if that was possible and Naruto had to suppress his amusement from showing; at least it wasn't him. It wasn't to be though as the proctor cleared his throat loudly.

"Right then, now that you have completed the first aspect of the exams I need-"

"Don't get to comfy yet candidates." The proctor was cut off by a colder and decidedly more feminine voice, quickly revealed to have come from a stony-faced woman that had sunk out of the ground like it was water. The first proctor gained a tick mark over his eye as he glared at the woman; obviously this was a common occurrence. The newcomer ignored him though as she turned to address the gathered chuunin, brushing back her long black hair as she fixed cold grey eyes on them. "You may have completed the first task, however the second task will begin immediately." Both Kotetsu and Izumo groaned while a few of the other later arrivals voiced their disapproval, only to be immediately silenced by a frosty gaze.

"As a Jounin you cannot expect that just because you have already completed one mission, you will not be required to immediately participate in another. You are the weapon of your village and as a Jounin, that weapon is among the best your village has at its disposal. You will be used until you are blunt and cannot be of any further user; to complain about this is to be unworthy of that fine edge." From within the crowd Naruto nearly snorted; the woman sounded like more than a few people in ANBU going on about how Shinobi were tools. He didn't particularly care about that; if being used meant he received his validation and recognition then all the better.

"Now I will explain the rules of the second test." She motioned to the large expanse of forestry behind her that the dirt path they had all been forced to trek seemed to lead to. It was fenced off by a rather flimsy gate that didn't look like it could hold back a cat, let alone some of the things that must lurk in the darkened trees. "All candidates will enter that forest; they will stay there until sixteen remain either alive, or not incapacitated." She gave them all a stern look, her gaze briefly lingering on the small crowd of Kusa Shinobi.

"From this point on killing is not prohibited, however the animals you have been assigned will remain with you. Death of your animal means instant disqualification. Attempting to replace your animal with another's means instant disqualification. Attempting to leave the perimeter of the forest means instant disqualification. Do I make myself clear?" She received at least a head nod from everybody assembled; nobody wanted to drop out now after getting this far. "Good, then you will need to assemble into teams of two." Instantly more than a few eyebrows rose and Naruto even growled, a guttural sound from the back of his throat.

"Why? I thought Jounin mostly work alone." The woman quickly picked him out of the crowd, leveling her neutral gaze on his dark blue eyes.

"Jounin are expected to work alongside whoever they are assigned to; not only that, but they are supposed to be the example to others on the team. A lack of cooperation can be fatal, no matter the rank." Naruto snorted but sat back down on the tree-stump he had been lounging on all the same. "In any case, this will show how good of a character you are in choosing your allies." Naruto was about to rebut again but she turned away, ignoring him and moving on dismissively. "The next exam will begin once you have chosen your partner; you have two minutes."

Naruto lazily glanced about, noticing that the two Konoha Shinobi that had arrived last immediately latched onto one another like they were each other's respective lifeline. He noticed the same all about the clearing, Shinobi from their own villages quickly teaming up. Naruto didn't personally care; he would take whoever was left and drag them through the second exam if he had to. Just as long as he didn't have to-

"Well how about it partner?" It was as though 'think of her and she shall appear' was branded somewhere on Anko's body as the woman suddenly appeared behind him, resting her assets atop Naruto's mop of hair teasingly. The boy immediately grunted, shrugging her off and hopping off the stump; however a quick glance around showed that everybody else was paired up. Anko immediately picked up on his observation and grinned impishly. "Yup, seems we're stuck together eh Gaki?" She suddenly picked him up under one arm and gave him a rather awkward half-hug where it took every last drop of Naruto's willpower not to go full 'hedgehog-mode'.

"Lucky me." If Anko noticed the heavy sarcasm she didn't say anything, instead half-guiding, half-dragging her new partner over to one of the unoccupied gates around the perimeter of the forest. Apparently they were given a brief respite before the actual exam began as the new proctor chatted to the old one, apparently not to the man's pleasure. Anko immediately capitalized, grinning down at her diminutive teammate.

"So what's the plan boss?" Naruto blinked once, doing his best not to show any other emotion but disdain as he looked up at the woman.

"Boss?" Anko's grin never wavered as she casually leaned up against the chain link fence; Naruto swore it nearly collapsed from her weight alone.

"Sure why not? I figured I'd take a back seat and just let you do you." Naruto blinked again before grunting and turning back to the forest, wondering what exactly 'him doing him' meant.

"Are you a sensor?" Anko quickly shook her head, briefly gaining a more serious expression at his tone before slipping back into her usual grin. "Neither am I, in which case we will either need to find a place to bunker in, set up defences and wait for the other teams to come to us or kill each other off…" From Anko's expression it was clear she was not happy about that plan which Naruto was finally able to agree with her over something; far too boring "…or we keep moving and eliminate any team that comes near us." Anko's grin grew back to its usual proportions at that.

"Well what do you know? Gaki knows his stuff." Naruto's only answer was another grunt; he had done enough talking for now. As if mirroring his thoughts the buzzer attached to the top of the fence informed them that the second exam had started with an obnoxious drone. When the gate opened Anko and Naruto casually strolled in; there was no rush after all.

* * *

**A/N: Big thanks to Darorado who's now beta-ing this fic ^.^**


	9. Ninth Link

**Na Na Naieee! Na Na Naeeiioooope, still don't.**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

The second exam started off quite slow for Naruto and Anko; the enclosed forest it was being held in was very large, likely twenty kilometers across if not more, so encountering other teams would be a rarer and more tactical occurrence. It stopped the exam becoming a messy battle royale that wouldn't show much of anybody's skill, even if that was how Naruto would have preferred it. This way, those Jounin candidates that didn't necessarily excel at direct confrontation could shine and show of their other noteworthy skills in their bid for the position.

"So shrimp, what's your story? Going for Jounin at such a tender young age… and height." Naruto's eye twitched as Anko shattered the delicate silence he had been building since entering the jungle environment. One downside to such a massive arena was the long stretches between confrontations, leaving Anko open to chatter away freely. Naruto was doing his best to ignore her but when she was the only other person around, possibly for miles in any direction, and dd in the fact she was Anko, it was difficult.

"I think I would have seen you round, people are always buzzing about little kiddie prodigies like that stick-up-his-ass Hyuuga or the duck-butt Uchiha." Anko continued in a cheerful and conversational manner, her arms articulating casually as she carried the conversation by herself. "Bet you must be one of those ANBU Gaki, the kids they pluck out of the academy and fast-track; am I right?" Naruto's eye twitched slightly, giving her all the answer she needed without him having to say a word. It irked him how easily she was able to read the situation.

"Yeah I knew it; you're easier to understand than you try to make yourself seem." She grinned cheerfully, a confident gait to her step. "I pride myself on batting the stickler right out of people, you get me?" She chuckled to herself as they continued their trudge through the forest, her voice the only sound above the buzz of insects and the occasional animal noise. "I bet that's why you're here too, most don't take the Jounin exams, just us special circumstances-types, ya know?" Naruto didn't know, but he didn't dignify her with her response and she didn't care either way, continuing without permission or acknowledgment.

"A lot of ANBU come through these exams, got no other choice really thanks to their mission records being locked up tighter than an Akamichi's pantry. I think the old man also uses it as an excuse to get them into the world a little; not the most sociable types you ANBU, ya know?" She gave the blonde a cheeky wink, uncaring when he didn't even glance at her, validating her point. "I'm glad you understand." She giggled, a surprisingly feminine sound from such an obviously tomboyish woman. She coughed into her hand right after, looking away as if realising her slip before setting her hands on the back of her head and walking more upright, glancing up at the bright green canopy above them.

"But then, it ain't just you white-masks; you get a whole horde of people looking for a challenge in other aspiring Jounin, they're the crazy types. Others'll want to make a name for themselves in the world; try to make themselves into legends without war, they're usually the vain pushovers, not confident enough in their natural skill." She looked down for a moment, a dark look passing over her eyes for a split second before it was gone, replaced by her usual grinning, childish mask. "Then there are the people that don't have much choice; you'd be surprised by how prejudiced some Shinobi can be, so the exams become their only option for advancement. It helps they're impartial." Naruto thought he heard a hint of spite in the bubbly woman's tone but it didn't register much with him beyond noticing it.

"Do you ever shut up?" Naruto asked neutrally, his voice betraying his irritation slightly as a chain whipped out and uncaringly slashed right through a thick patch of undergrowth in their way. Anko just grinned happily at him, allowing him to do all the work clearing out the path ahead of them.

"If I ever find the off button, you'll be the first to know." Came the cheeky response, making Naruto grimace as he ripped a particularly large tree out of the ground and casually tossed it aside without ever having to lift his arms. Anko's eyes widened at seeing the sight of the thick golden chains so effortlessly tearing up the tree that had likely been there longer than her and Naruto's lifetimes combined. "Useful ability that, now I get why everyone keeps calling you that nickname." Naruto just grunted, wishing that the conversation wouldn't turn to him; then he might actually have to answer.

"Which are you?" He ground out slowly, his eyes still darting about and looking for enemies; it was normally Saru's job to sense the enemy and Naruto was feeling particularly paranoid without his captain.

"Huh?" Anko ineloquently muttered, blinking as Naruto actually responded to her for once instead of just berating her or telling her to shut up. Naruto scowled as his chains lashed out again, muttering something about annoying pineapple-haired women under his breath.

"You said there are a lot of reasons people come to the exams; why are you here?" He hoped by shifting the conversation onto her he would at least avoid having to answer and probing questions. Maybe by the time she was finished her rant they would be attacked. Naruto could only hope. However to his surprise Anko actually fell silent at the question, looking down for a moment with what the blonde might have mistaken for sadness if he didn't know any better.

"Well ah, actually I'm already a Jounin." Naruto quirked his eyebrow at that before forcefully righting it; no, showing interest would only encourage her. Cool and collected, calm and derisive… that was the way to go. "Well uh, a Tokubetsu Jounin at least, so I don't have the full qualifications." Her face darkened again. "Apparently it's because I don't have 'the right attitude' or a 'rounded set of skills' or something." She snorted, blowing air between her teeth in irritation. "As if, I could trounce any Kunoichi in the village right now; even Nai-Chan when we spar!" Again Naruto had to force his eyebrow not to rise; the woman seemed rather vehement over this.

"Ah but…" At the same time, Anko seemed to realise how much venom had sprung into her words and how tightly she was clenching her hand. She chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head slowly with what Naruto now knew to be a very fake grin; he supposed she narrowed her eyes like that to hide the fact. Half of a smile was in the eyes after all; or at least, Saru had told him so. "I'm rambling aren't I?" Naruto snorted at that, involuntarily lightening his scowl just a little.

"When aren't you?" He replied half-heartedly, for some reason unable to muster his usual indifference. He regretted it as soon as an arm looped around his shoulder, pulling him into the side of the taller woman and pressing his face right up against her mesh-covered breast.

"Ah you love me for it don'tcha?" Naruto simply shot her the most scathing, venom-filled look he was able, muted as it was by the fact he was staring up at her with half his face pressed into her womanly-parts.

"I will skewer you." He growled, only to have Anko laugh at the mildly muffled words before releasing him suddenly, nearly sending him tripping over his own feet. He was swiftly caught by a chain lashing out at a nearby tree, embedding into the wood, but not before Naruto noticed the faintest of ripples spreading out a few inches from the contact. Anko spotted where his eyes drifted and grinned mischievously.

"Oh, did you only just notice? I thought one of you ANBU prodigy types would notice a Genjutsu a little earlier." Naruto growled at the woman, using one of his chains to score a light scratch across his arm which immediately shattered the world around him and snapped him back into reality. He could have repressed and flared his Chakra, but with his reserves it just took too long; this was much quicker and it wasn't like he particularly cared about the pain. A moment later and the glazed look in Anko's eyes disappeared, re-joining him in the real world.

"Why didn't you say something sooner if you noticed?" Naruto muttered, eyes narrowed and glancing about furtively; chains slowly crept from his back, practically vibrating in anticipation.

"Because they seemed to just be trying to tire us out; I was humouring them." Anko replied flippantly with a small barking laugh, her own chocolate orbs drifting about more lazily. "I would have liked to see them try to attack us while I'm in a Genjutsu, might have even gotten a few laughs from it." her grin turned a little more sadistic as both their eyes drifted to a patch on a tree that was ever so faintly rippling. "Right guys?" Suddenly, and without warning, the patch on the tree transformed into a tall, camouflaged man who in that same instance pushed off the trunk and catapulted himself toward Anko.

"Don't underestimate us you Leaf bitch!" His fist was clenched, senbon protruding from the spaces between his fingers like claws and each dripped a viscous green fluid. However as he breached some kind of invisible boundary around the Tokubetsu Jounin everybody heard a low and threatening hiss. From underneath the woman's trench coat a thick and very long snake suddenly lashed out, its elongated scaly head snaking up the man's arm to viciously bite into his neck. Instantly the man screamed in shock and pain, crumpling and skidding across the ground as Anko cheekily side-stepped him like a matador might a bull.

"Kosuke!" The man's partner, who Naruto had been anticipating, suddenly melted out of the ground just behind the blonde, face twisted into anger as he lashed out with a few more poisoned senbon. They clanged uselessly against a sudden wall of brightly glowing chains that separated just enough to reveal Naruto's feral grin.

"Finally." Naruto growled, and before the man could even get half his body out of the ground he had two of those same chains impaled through his shoulders. He was suddenly and forcefully yanked the rest of the way out of the ground, scattering loose clumps of earth everywhere and eliciting a whimper of pain from what they could now identify was a Kusa chuunin. Naruto dangled him in the air for a moment, watching him flail uselessly and try to pull the chains out of his shoulders with little success. Before he could decide he felt Anko pat him on the shoulder, a single glance showing him she had wrapped the other Kusa-nin up with two nasty-looking boas.

"Good job, capturing and not killing; thinking like a Jounin after all." Anko praised with a wink, causing Naruto to blink before looking back at his 'captive'.

"Right…" Naruto grumbled in irritation. "…capture." With a dismissive grunt he tossed the man rather roughly towards his partner, watching as another snake came out to coil around him tightly. Anko was cooing softly to the snakes, patting them on the head and rubbing them under their… well, snakes don't really have chins, but under their mouths at least. It almost reminded Naruto of a dog in the way they flickered their tongue out happily at their mistress' ministrations.

"So that's how you are so easily able to break Genjutsu." Naruto muttered, more to himself than his unwelcome companion; Anko heard him though, smiling proudly as she stroked the sleek scales of one of the serpents.

"Yeah, never leave home without at least one as a familiar; my summons are pretty smart and Genjutsu don't affect animals the same way they do humans. Especially snakes, as they mostly see through their tongues; they can just inject me with a bit of their Chakra and problem solved." Naruto grunted disinterestedly, but apparently it didn't deter Anko as she continued to play with one of the long scaly creatures, smiling happily as it wound its way up her arm. "Why don't you say hello?" She added with a smirk, only to see a long chain, roughly the same thickness as the snake on her arm, emerge from Naruto's hand.

"I'll pass, I have much more reliable friends." He tossed back with a smirk as the chain wound up his arm, the pointed kunai-like tip turning towards Anko like it was genuinely looking at her. However once again Anko seemed undeterred as the snake slithered back into her clothes with a parting hiss.

"Guess we aren't so different after all right?" Naruto's response was to just scowl as he retracted the chain swiftly, turning back to the two captive and unconscious Kusa-nin.

"What do we do about them?" He asked gruffly, as much as he could with his rather high pre-pubescent voice. Anko just stared at them without anything even remotely resembling interest; obvious the fight was more exciting to her than the aftermath, another thing they shared in common.

"Eh, just leave 'em. I'm sure the proctors'll come and collect them… probably." She added as an afterthought with a small shrug. "Either way they're out of the exam now." Naruto grinned at that, revealing slightly longer than normal canines; it wasn't a nice smile.

"I could make sure." He replied, bringing out a chain and having it hover near one of the unconscious Shinobi's throats. Anko just scoffed and waved her hand dismissively.

"Ah, they're not even worth-" She was cut off though as two very familiar Konoha Shinobi all but stumbled upon them, practically falling out of the surrounding trees with all the grace of a two-legged cat.

"Oh crap Kotetsu, its Anko and _him_." The two immediately scrabbled to their feet and made tracks to get as far away as they could only to be yanked back suddenly and uncomfortably with glowing chains coiled around their necks.

"Aww, are the eternal gate-guards leaving so soon? What's the rush?" Anko intoned cheekily as she appeared in front of the two now shivering Ninja, shortly joined by Naruto who was eyeing the newcomers up like a butcher might a fresh slab of meat.

"A-Ah Anko-san, well we, er I mean, we were just…" Izumo babbled uselessly, his tongue betraying him as he failed to execute a coherent sentence. Then again that was probably due to the kunai-like point of Naruto's chain hovering so close to his eye.

"Okay Naruto, let them go." Anko offered with a flippant wave, causing the blonde to look up at her and scowl; the only ones who could order him around were Saru and the Hokage… and Nezumi; but that was only because she frightened him sometimes.

"You don't tell me what to do." He growled, making Izumo and Kotetsu quiver a little more prominently; they might have gulped if the chains weren't just a little too tight. However Anko just rolled her eyes and smirked at the blonde, her stance never wavering in the slightest despite his burning gaze.

"Come on blondie, they're harmless; plus they're from our village. We gotta stick up for our comrades." She practically sighed out, not sure what part of Naruto she was appealing to here, or even if he had a part to appeal to. A glimmer of hope entered the gate guards' eyes.

"Yeah that's right!" Izumo quickly spoke up only to get a scathing look from the blonde who still hadn't loosened his chains.

"Shut up you." He growled menacingly before turning to Anko. "They aren't _my_ comrades." He intoned, even as Saru's words echoed in his mind about killing his fellow Leaf-nin reflecting poorly on him. "If they are in this exam they are against me." Anko just sighed at that, still smirking as she placed a hand against her temple; despite the two Konoha ninja quivering in their boots she already knew Naruto was going to let them go. He was just being stubborn.

"Fine, let them go and if by some miracle they get through this round…" She sent a pointed look at the two which had them lower their heads a little "…they'll be easy pickings in the third round." At that Naruto became a little more thoughtful before slowly retracting his chains with a deeply unsettling clinking. Izumo and Kotetsu didn't waste the opportunity and immediately bolted for it. A few moments later and Anko broke out into laughter, trying desperately to muffle it with her hand and failing miserably.

"Ahh, that was good. I always enjoy taking the piss out of those two; I figure it might actually get their asses in gear ya know?" She turned back to Naruto, who was already stalking off into the tree line to continue the exam. "That was a pretty good joke, you pull off the psycho act pretty well." All she heard was Naruto huff with a small scowl, as a chain whipped out to clear a new path through the underbrush.

"Who says it's an act." He shot back with a rough, lazily drawl that had Anko pause for a moment before grinning and running after him.

"I'm really starting to like you Gaki; keep it up and you might get stuck with me." Naruto's small, muffled groan went unheard as they walked off at a sedate pace further into the jungle.

* * *

An hour went by without anything eventful happening to the pair; they supposed as more and more confrontations occurred between the teams, the number of Shinobi they could come across decreased rapidly. Unfortunately that meant a long stretch of Anko chatting Naruto's ear off, trying to get him to blush with her antics and generally being a talkative nuisance. Naruto began to wonder if he was being tested by some divine being or receiving karmic balance for something. He dismissed that though; his karmic balance would be a whole lot worse than a talkative purple-haired woman who had a fascination with crushing him into her breasts like some kind of living teddy.

Just as he was contemplating the ways he could silently kill her and get away with it, something interesting finally occurred as his sixth sense reacted to a nearby presence. His chains shot out on instinct and he was rewarded with the satisfying grind of metal-on-metal as his attacker's blade ricocheted off his chains. Even Anko seemed surprised by the sudden attack, not having felt it until the last moment as her body bent at an unnatural angle to dodge a blade that skimmed across her mesh shirt. Then they were gone. The two assailants vanishing into the undergrowth leaving Naruto and Anko on high alert, their bodies tensed.

Obviously the pair didn't feel like pressing their attack as a second run never came; Naruto and Anko were simply left there in silence, their ears straining to hear the next attack coming. Finally Anko released a small chuckle, her posture losing its tension as she straightened up, a small snake slithering to of her collar to hiss in her ear.

"They aren't around anymore, none of my snakes can sense them." Naruto simply narrowed his eyes and continued looking around; lowering your guard after a failed ambush was a sure fire way to walk into a second one. "Ahh come off it shrimp; they obviously counted on getting the drop on us and cut their losses when we were too fast for them." Naruto growled slightly but still lowered his chains, retracting them until only the very tips of the pointed heads stuck out from his body. As they began walking though, they too slipped back inside him as the jungle descended into the sounds of Anko chatting and Naruto ignoring her.

The next time the attack came though Naruto was ready for it, chains lashing out in a wide arc that Anko was actually forced to jump over to avoid, earning an undignified cry of annoyance. However it paid off as Naruto felt one of his chains snap around something solid and vaguely leg-sized. He tugged only to hiss in irritation as a low hum invaded his ears at the same moment the chain was severed by a glowing blue blur. This time he saw the unmistakable white of a Kumo flak jacket as well as an all-too familiar shock of shoulder-length blonde hair, a few shades lighter than his own.

His chains lashed out with righteous fury again, unwilling to allow the attackers to get away this time and repeat their guerrilla tactics. Trees were felled and the local plant life was summarily decimated but the woman was able to flip and dive out the way each time, pushing her slower and less acrobatic teammate out of harm's way. Occasionally her glowing and crackling sword was brought around and Naruto's chains would immediately snap back, like a snake getting too close to a flame. However in the end there were more chains than she could deal with and she was slowly pushed into a corner.

"You're an annoyance." Naruto huffed, cracking his neck at the sudden flurry of fast-paced activity; somewhere behind him Anko was eyeing up the two Kumo-Shinobi.

"Friends from the north, what are the chances?" She almost sang in her usual lackadaisical manner, that unsettling grin right back on her features. The woman simply gave them both that cold stare as she held her still humming tanto in a steady, even stance before finally her lips twitched up into a small smirk.

"Very cool, you live up to your reputation Kusari no Naruto." Slightly disarmed by the words Naruto tilted his head slightly, only to widen his eyes as the woman suddenly moved. "Kumo-ryuu: Damashigiri!" She slashed the tanto forward and Naruto immediately erected a quick shield, however the raiton-enhanced slice never came. Instead the thick patch of trees they were backed into suddenly fell down, giving the pair an opportunity to shoot off in matching body flickers. Naurto growled, about to chase after them, when a loud and very noticeable buzzer rang through the entire forest, causing all the participants to pause.

"The second round of the Jounin exams is over; the remaining sixteen candidates will congregate by the northernmost gate. Failure to do so before sun down will result in disqualification." Came the slightly crackling tone of the proctor over the loudspeaker system, which was remarkable as Naruto couldn't spot a single one in the vicinity. However giving a glance to the sky told them that there were only another few hours until the sun descended below the horizon and they were already in the southern section of the forest. They quickly made tracks to catch up with the rest of the examinees.

* * *

Naruto woke up the next morning the way he always did, with a scowl on his face as he was forced to brush his blonde spikes away from his eyes. At least he didn't have to deal with his alarm clock; they were beginning to become expensive with the amount he destroyed without even realising it. However he did notice the large and unusually heavy mass resting on his body was somewhat new. Looking down he found his vision full of wild and messy purple hair courtesy of one tokubetsu Jounin, clad in little more than her mesh underclothing. Naruto just grunted at the sight; at least she wasn't naked.

A moment later and the woman had a very surprised and confused wake-up call as she was suddenly speared to the roof by that same mesh clothing. Her eyes snapped open and she wriggled about comically for a few moments, unable to move or free herself as Naruto had taken away most of her points of leverage. When she finally realised what had happened and wasn't in the midst of waking up still she grinned sheepishly down at him.

"Morning Gaki…" There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Anko did her best to shrug in her current position. "Surprise?" Naruto simply huffed and slid off his bed, slipping on his clothing and walking into the small kitchenette of the hotel room he had been provided. Anko struggled for a few more minutes before falling slack, sending another sheepish glance Naruto's way as the boy sat down and began eating his breakfast. "You gonna get me down from here Gaki? It was only a joke." However Naruto just ignored her, steadily making his way through his bowl of rice and other assorted foods he had quickly prepared.

Suddenly there was the sound of squirming, the ripping of clothes followed by an undignified and girlish yelp before ending with a loud thud and an agitated groan. The blonde looked over to see Anko slumped on the ground now wearing nothing but her underwear, rubbing her lower back as she kept an arm in front of her breasts; what do you know, she actually had some modesty. Naruto's chains retracted, no longer keeping her up, allowing her mesh underclothing to flutter down from the ceiling and land rather pathetically on her head, now in ragged tatters. She quickly picked herself up, still just about covering her modesty even though it was difficult with their… size.

"So what's on the agenda today Gaki?" She started amicably, sitting down at the other side of the table and reaching for a bowl of rice only to nearly lose her hand for it. "Ah! Damn Shrimp, those are some reflexes you have." Naruto didn't even look up, retracting the chain that had made an indent in the table slowly and threateningly. He didn't even have to try these days; years of growing up around his food-stealing teammates had given him the reflexes he needed to fend off any untoward food-theft and not starve to death.

"Get out of my room Anko." Naruto deadpanned, still picking at his food while making sure his eyes never strayed too far forward; he was not giving Anko the satisfaction. To his displeasure though the woman only grinned with a small clap to show her satisfaction.

"Oho first name basis, when did we get so chummy eh?" Naruto's glare intensified to the point he could almost imagine burning a hole through the table. He was beginning to consider if Saru's words to him covered throwing his comrades out of the window; one glance told him that was how she had gotten into his room in the first place. He'd give her the fact she seemed to be an excellent infiltration expert; he wondered if that was her specialty before suddenly she was talking again.

"You know, you're supposed to have this really fearsome, dangerous reputation." Suddenly Anko was leaning across the table, her modesty forgotten for the moment as her breasts pressed into the wood in a sight that would have floored most red-blooded males. "I just don't see it; you're just like every other ANBU out there; cold, detached and a little more vicious than us regular Shinobi." She leaned back on her chair and covered up again, letting out a mildly disappointed sigh as she rocked back and forth slowly "I'll give you this; you're a tough nut to crack." Her usual predatory grin returned full force as she swaggered to her feet and towards the window.

"I look forward to seeing you fight for real." And with that she slipped out the open window without a sound; obviously nobody saw her as there were no indignant cries or shouts praising Kami. Naruto simply continued eating until he was finished before finally sighing and slumping a little in his chair, a scowl firmly plastered on his features.

He really missed ANBU.

* * *

The remaining candidates of the Jounin exams were assembled in what looked like a standard training ground some distance from Kusagakure. So far none of the outsider entrants had actually been allowed into the village itself, forced to rent hotel rooms from a nearby village. Without the massive military power of the five major villages, the so-called 'minor' villages were forced to use other tricks such as keeping their village's exact location a secret or not allowing outsiders see the various defences they had set up. The only other person there was a rather youthful looking girl with her dark hair bound in twin pigtails, her bright green eyes practically sparkling at the assembled Jounin-hopefuls.

"Alrighty guys! Welcome to the last test of the Jounin exams." She grinned so wide her eyes were forced to close, reminding Naruto of Anko when she did the same only without all the 'I will kill you' vibe that went with the Tokubetsu Jounin. Just the idea of another of her was enough to make the blonde shiver internally. "This is the big one candidates!" She exclaimed in an all too chipper voice for this early in the morning. "You'll now be pairing off to fight one another, no holds barred, until one of you is unable to continue okay!" She shouted brightly, as though they were dancing together and not engaging in a battle that might kill them.

"The remaining eight will then be paired up again, okay!" She wagged her finger suddenly, like an older sister trying to scold her younger brother and failing miserably. "But you only get two fights. "Her face brightened again and Naruto had to wonder if this girl was actually a Jounin. "Because you know, as a Jounin if you can't display your skills in two fights, you don't deserve the position." She head cocked to the side slightly. "Okay? Okay!" Naruto's hand twitched, ready to stab the girl if she said okay one more time.

"Alrighty then, first two to the field!" She growled out almost mockingly, like a child trying to imitate and adult; the effect was ruined by her immediately bursting out into giggles. And people thought Naruto was crazy? The fights flashed by in Naruto's eye; there was nothing interesting to see really. Each candidate was only showing enough skill to earn them the pass and nothing more, not willing to reveal their secrets. Of course there were the flamboyant few who were obviously here just to show off, but they weren't all that special either, confirming Anko's earlier thoughts.

Finally Naruto was called up, an older-looking Iwagakure teen his opponent as the two stepped out on the field. At this point Naruto was intensely bored so when the proctor, in her annoyingly bright tone, announced the start of the match he wasted no time.

"Heh, what is this? My opponent looks like he should be taking the genin exams, never mind-" The dark-haired Iwa-nin was cut off as two chains suddenly burst from the earth by his feet, snaking their way up the length of his legs before constricting suddenly. It elicited a painful sounding crack as a few of the poor chuunin's bones were broken in his legs and he was forced to fall to the ground screaming in pain and clutching at the chains desperately.

"Come on, entertain me." Naruto snarled coldly as his chains began to rise up and twist the chuunin over until he was hanging upside down, still whimpering and trying to desperately pry the glowing Chakra constructs from his legs. "Do something." Naruto shook the teen a few times, making him look like some ragdoll in the hands of a displeased and bored toddler. "Something!" Naruto growled before the chains whipped up suddenly, causing more cries of pain before slamming back down with a vengeance, driving a small crater into the ground with the chuunin's body.

"Pfft." Naruto huffed as he turned away from the fight and walked back into the crowd; the Iwa-nin wasn't going to be getting up again. From the other side of the crowd the teen's partner was giving him a cold look; it was the Tsuchikage's granddaughter again, her chubby friend from before nowhere to be seen. However as he looked up and responded with an even colder glare she flinched and looked away. If he was going to have a stupid moniker or reputation, he was at least going to get something out of it by driving off the weaklings that would only bore him.

A few more fights went by until Anko's name was called; against his better judgement Naruto looked up in mild interest, curious about the skills of the woman who had been bugging him all this time. However it proved to be a disappointment as her opponent, a Kusa-nin, keeled over almost as soon as the match started. It was revealed Anko had managed to slip a snake onto him the moment their names were called and it had quickly injected him with a potent paralytic almost immediately. Smart, but incredibly dull to watch; she would have made a good ANBU; if she could shut up at least.

The names continued to cycle through, this time with the remaining eight, and suddenly Naruto's ears pricked up in interest.

"Alrighty then, the next guys are… addadadaadadaaa…" The proctor hummed thoughtfully as she closed her eyes and pointed to a random spot on her clipboard with a flourish. "Uzumaki Naruto…" Various looks were sent his way, none of them particularly nice save for Anko's exaggerated thumbs up "…and Samui of Kumo." Naruto's eyes shot up to the blonde Kumo-nin he had been eyeing the entire tournament, his lips tugging up into an almost feral smile as she in turn regarded him with those calculating eyes. Interesting.


	10. Tenth Link

**I don't own it, but I do have a pace at University now so... maybe later?**

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**Kusari no Naruto**

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Naruto grinned viciously as he stepped out with his opponent, eyeing her in a way most women would have found uncomfortable. Samui just bore it with a cold, almost detached expression as her own eyes made searching passes on the much shorter blonde. She took in everything she could, from his energetic stance that had him slowly moving from one foot to another in a strangely mesmerizing way, to the way his fingers twitched ever so slightly at her every movement. The feral expression was the last thing on her mind as she simply absorbed what she could learn from his body language alone; it was frustratingly little.

Every little tick she found seemed to vanish as soon as her eyes passed it by, only to be replaced by another. It was like watching some constantly changing, adapting, and infuriatingly complex puzzle that refused to conform to any standards. It was like he had taken the Shinobi principle of removing any and all tells from his body, and completely flipped it around, giving himself an almost whimsical number that only served to deceive and confuse. It was frighteningly effective from what Samui could tell, and neither of them had even done anything yet.

Naruto on the other hand forwent any kind of initial assessment, as he had been warned from doing by Tako many times. Preconceptions subverted or manipulated expectations to lull opponents into certain manners of fighting. Presenting weak spots where there are none, a preference for a certain side or arm, false nervous habits. No, it had been drilled into Naruto's head to ignore anything that did not expressly come up in a fight. Fights were savage, brutal and swift but most of all, honest; the only truths Naruto could ever believe were with his fists and chains.

Then the arm descended and adrenaline slowed down time for the both of them, elongating that initial split second into a long, drawn-out affair. At that moment the smoke bomb Samui had dropped as soon as the proctor raised her arm hit the ground, enveloping the small clearing in a thick, noxious grey smoke. Naruto noted it as the tactic Samui had used in her last fight, creating cover to use swift and lethally precise guerrilla tactics from the trees to whittle down her opponent. He wouldn't allow the same thing to happen to him and in one fluid motion dived into the ground, just in time for a buzzing, electrified sword to come sailing through the spot he had just occupied.

"Hmm, pulling out the big guns just for me?" Naruto asked with that same ferocious grin as Samui retreated back into the safety of the trees with her sword. Naruto quickly showed her just how safe the trees were when chains excitedly burst from his boy, grabbed the nearest trunk and proceeded to throw it at her last position. It crashed through four of its brothers before coming to a stop in more pieces than it had left as. A few of the Jounin prospects on the side lines winced, already imagining this fight to end just as brutally as Naruto's last.

"Come on out little Ku-" Naruto was suddenly cut off as his chains instinctively pulled him to the floor, causing him to land like some kind of strange insect with its many legs splayed out haphazardly. The blonde scowled as he once again saw pale yellow tresses disappear into the undergrowth. It appeared that she could turn the Raiton Chakra on and off like her blade had a switch, meaning the hum that gave her away didn't appear until the last moment. The girl was also annoyingly quiet despite her swift movements; Naruto was lucky his reflexes were as sharp as they were or he might have been missing more than a few strands of hair.

"These trees and that lightning Chakra of yours are a pain." Naruto growled as he stood up a little straighter; a somewhat inadvisable move in most cases, however the grin he sported dared someone to question him. The smoke from the initial distraction had cleared by now, giving the spectators a good view as Naruto suddenly retracted his chains towards himself like a curled up spider. Briefly a look of concentration passed over his features before a hazy, almost insubstantial blur surrounded half the length of each chain toward the tips. "Good thing I know how to deal with both." He intoned as he suddenly spun, the chains reacting to the sudden centripetal force by splaying out.

Both Samui in the trees and the chuunin on the side-lines were forced to dive out the way and to the ground as the golden blurs sliced through the air in a large fifty meter diameter. As they passed overhead they seemed to possess a faint whisper as well as an almost inaudible shriek that was the unmistakable sound of Fuuton Chakra. Then all at once the chains returned to the blonde, now sporting a searching but still amused expression, allowing the chuunin to stand up. There was a moment of deafening silence before suddenly every tree within that fifty meter radius, spanning far out beyond the small clearing, toppled over with a deafening crash.

By the time anybody had worked out what had happened Naruto was already dashing forward, feet barely touching the cleanly-cut stumps as he skipped over them towards a newly revealed and rather startled Samui. The teen had enough sense to bring her now glowing blade around again and block the almighty impact of all eight of Naruto's chains slamming into it like some sort of solid golden mass. She was immediately brought to her knees but to her credit her grip on the balde didn't weaken at all; however to her surprise her supposedly Raiton-sharpened blade barely made cuts into the glowing Chakra constructs.

"Heh, not so sharp now are they." Naruto playfully growled as he increased the pressure, causing the ground around Samui's feet to lightly crater as her grip held firm.

"…wind?" Samui managed to rasp out as she looked up to see what she had expected, the blue glow of her blade fighting the faintly white edge extending out from the chains a few inches. The two conflicting Chakra natures cancelled each other out meaning it was just her sword against Naruto's chains… the chains won. With a grunt Samui watched hopelessly as at first a small chip appeared on her tanto. It quickly developed into a crack as Naruto pushed harder before the end of the blade itself simply snapped off.

However Samui wasn't trained by arguably Kumogakure's strongest Shinobi bar the Raikage himself for nothing. As soon as she saw the end of her blade snap back towards her she pushed back from Naruto suddenly, her foot coming up and striking the flat of the steel and kicking it at Naruto. Naturally a few chains immediately swarmed to protect him, allowing Samui the room needed to get some distance. However she didn't leave before giving Naruto a small present in the form of a half-dozen explosive tags she quickly slapped on the ground.

The explosion nearly took a few of the watching chuunin off their feet as the ground quaked beneath them. However it was made clear by the heavily scorched and ashen tree-log that Naruto had escaped the blast. The fact was further hammered into Samui as she made a break for the now distant tree-line by the very tip of the tanto she had kicked at him suddenly spearing right through her foot and into the soft ground. The teen let out an admirably muffled grunt of pain as Naruto dropped to the ground behind her like a ghost.

"Almost got me there." And Naruto wasn't lying; there was a small blackened scorch mark on his trousers where he couldn't substitute fast enough. "Shame." Samui just grunted as she yanked the broken blade out of her foot, managing to slice into her palms in the process. Obviously not without reason though as a moment later her hands began going through seals familiar to any higher-ranked Shinobi. Before she could finish them though her footing was suddenly yanked out from under her as the ground exploded in a small sea of chains, each managing to find a place on Samui's body to curl around until she looked like some image from a book on proper shibari techniques.

For a long few moments, especially for the Kumo Kunoichi, nothing happened save for a snake-like chain head hovering in front of Samui's face; it was as though it was staring at her curiously. Then, unceremoniously, she was dropped to the ground; the match had already been called in Naruto's favour. Samui just blinked in surprise, wondering why Naruto hadn't become more vicious on her like he had the Iwagakure Shinobi. There was also the small fact she had seen what looked suspiciously like disappointment and irritation in the blonde's features before the match was even over.

She mulled it over quietly as the two blondes returned to the spectators, watching as the second last-match was called, leaving only two remaining participants they could call. Anko looked over at Kurotsuchi and gave a toothy grin as the granddaughter of the current Tsuchikage reached the same conclusion, shivering slightly and suddenly very self-aware of the ground. The current match ended rather blandly and the proctor called out the two in her bubbly, hyper-friendly voice.

Luckily this one lasted longer than Anko's last, namely because Kurotsuchi was very paranoid about snakes the moment she realised who her opponent was and was unwilling to fall for such a tactic. It quickly became obvious that the Iwa Kunoichi's favoured method of attack was overwhelming force with Ninjutsu. She fired off powerful water and earth Jutsu like they were simple clones, upturning the landscape and very nearly succeeding in adding a large pond to the surroundings. However Anko seemed to effortlessly dodge them with the same ease Kurotsuchi threw them, using her unnaturally flexible body to slip around the attacks and respond with scarily precise Kunai throws.

That wasn't to say Anko was lacking in the Jutsu department, she simply had a more subtle approach. She managed to corral Kurotsuchi into a specific spot on the edge of the vastly changed and much larger clearing with kunai before revealing the last few she had thrown were attached to near invisible ninja wire. Suddenly pulling on them led to the Iwa-nin being bound against a large and sturdy tree as Anko caught the wires in her mouth, running through a set of fast seals. Fire raced down the wires like they had been dipped in oil and the spectators were forced to shield their eyes as the tree was quickly turned into a bonfire.

For a moment Naruto's ANBU conditioning kicked in and he was almost tempted to check if the Tsuchikage's granddaughter was okay; Konoha didn't need an incident like her death right now. However as the roaring flames died down without Chakra to sustain them everyone was surprised to see a blackened wall of a strange greyish cement-like substance surrounding the tree. It crumbled away slowly to reveal Kurotsuchi on her knees, panting heavily from exertion. From there Anko swiftly knocked her out with a blow to the back of the head, however she seemed rather intrigued by the strangely tough substance Kurotsuchi had managed to create somehow; it wasn't like any earth technique she had ever seen.

Then, just like that, the exams were over. It was almost a little surreal for Naruto as he was led back through the trees to the village outside of Kusagakure all the participants were staying in. The bubbly, rather hyper proctor gave them parting words telling them their Kage would give them the news on whether they passed or not. It was with a small sigh of relief then that Naruto slipped into his temporary room, only to turn into a mildly strangled grunt of irritation when he saw who was waiting for him.

"You do have a room of your own you know." Naruto growled lowly as his eye twitched at the sight of Anko kicking her feet up on the kitchen table. The Tokubetsu Jounin simply grinned at his briefly obvious irritation, at least until his features schooled and she was deprived of her entertainment.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't be able to see my favourite little Gaki, would I?" She shot back with a cheeky smile, only causing Naruto to huff as he retrieved some juice from the fridge. As soon as he tried to set it on the table though Anko used her feet to 'accidentally' knock it over, her hand going to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh no, my foot slipped; well that's a real shame." Her faux expression was easily replaced by a mischievous grin as she slapped down a bottle of Sake in the Juice's place. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to drink this instead then right?" Naruto gave her a long, drawn-out stare that she happily returned before sliding into the opposite chair, much to Anko's obvious joy.

"Do you get some kick out of getting Kids drunk?" Naruto asked with a distinctly bored expression; he hadn't been expecting to spend much time in the apartment, just to grab his gear and get going back to Konoha. For some reason he felt the need to see his squad mates; but it wasn't like he was missing them or anything. Anko shrugged casually as she poured herself a saucer of the clear liquid.

"What are you talking about Gaki? I'm too much of an upstanding woman to ever consider doing something so… reprehensible." Anko intoned in a rather good impersonation of how a noble sounded whenever they talked to 'commoners' like Shinobi. It was something every Ninja had heard at some point in their career when they were forced to escort he upper echelons of society. There was a moment of silence between the two before Anko let out a small snigger.

"You had to think a moment to find that word didn't you?" Naruto deadpanned as Anko slid him a small saucer of Sake for himself. A look of mock hurt flashed over the actress' features as she held a hand to her chest.

"So cruel Gaki." She couldn't keep it up long though and was soon grinning, quickly tossing the small saucer back and downing the small drink in one. "But I don't see your point, in a few days we'll both be Jounin; that's about as adult as you can get in this world…" A thoughtful look crossed over her eyes for a moment as she poured another drink "…well, ignoring people like Kakashi and Jiraiya of course." She grinned at the thought, confusing Naruto as to why she would think the vaunted Copy Ninja and Toad Sannin were not 'adult'; but then he had never met them before.

"Well, until then…" Naruto slid the small saucer towards him and took a small sip; it was much fruitier than the one he had with his squad mates "… I will have to decline." He got up from the table as chains began snaking from his body to collect the gear he had strewn about the small hotel room. Anko simply put on a look of mock disgruntlement as she made exaggerated motions to the still mostly-full Sake bottle.

"Come on Gaki. Don't you know it's rude to leave a bottle full like this?" She never noticed the chain snaking under the table that quickly knocked the bottle over, spilling the alcohol across the table. Naruto just looked around with a completely blank face, taking in Anko's look of shock with a brief smirk.

"Oh no, it slipped." He intoned emotionlessly, hopping up onto the windowsill and turning away to hide his smirk. By the time Anko got up and rushed over to the window he had already jumped out and was halfway to the outskirts.

"You owe me a drink now Gaki!" Anko called out in futility before looking back at the alcohol-drenched table and grinning; she was beginning to get through to him. She would continue to do so too as if there was one thing Anko was good at it was getting reactions out of people.

* * *

"It makes me proud to see you like this Naruto." The Hokage stated as he handed over the custom-fitted Jounin flak jacket over to the blonde. Both had known this would happen, the exams being more of a formality than anything else; but it still brought a happy gleam to the old man's eyes to be the one to say it. Although there was something else there, just a tinge of melancholy and regret in the deepening of his wrinkles, or the way he would glance outside at the monument every now and then. Still; he wasn't the Hokage for nothing and Naruto, emotionally stunted as he was, failed to notice anything amiss.

"Thank you Hokage-sama." Naruto drawled without much inflection; despite the auspiciousness of the promotion to Jounin, he couldn't say he felt too strongly either way about it. All it meant was that he was now essentially a free-agent within the village, able to take missions as he pleased and eventually take up a genin squad. Naruto snorted at the thought; why would he ever want to take up a bunch of green brats? They would only get in the way, even worse than having to babysit the new recruits in ANBU.

"I know you'll make the village just as proud." The Hokage continued before taking a long draw from his pipe, a kindly smile alighting on his lips. "I know you understand the responsibility of becoming a Jounin, but I felt I should just let you know again. You are a leader now Naruto, people will look up to you and I hope you will act according to your new rank." The blonde could only stare blankly at the old man for a few moments before nodding in confusion; what was that supposed to mean? As a former Black-Ops member he was no stranger to the chain of command, from both sides.

"Hokage-sama?" Naruto's eyebrow rose questioningly as the old man seemed to re-affirm his features quickly.

"Ah, never mind Naruto; just remember that you aren't a simple grunt anymore, following orders." He smiled again, sitting back in his chair and taking another long drag from his pipe. "I am proud of you though." He added in as Naruto turned to leave, causing the blonde to pause for a moment on the way out. He shrugged it off though and carried on out of the office, then the building; he had thought it so simple before, simply grab the jacket and leave. He didn't think there would be much change with the transition to Jounin; yet those last few words really rattled something in him as he took to the rooftops.

Halfway back to the apartment he decided to sit down on a random rooftop overlooking the seedier parts of Konoha. When he was younger, still new to ANBU and ignorant of the drastic changes it would bring to his life, he used to often come here and just stare out at the shabby buildings. It was often amusing to see the drunkards wandering back from the bars while the strange women he didn't understand at the time called to them alluringly from darkened corners. It had been like a whole other world contained within the idealised, bright and cheerful Konoha.

Now though Naruto found his gaze listlessly drifting over those same sights, his time in the corp. having wizened him up to the realities of what he was seeing. The sights reminded him of what he had witnessed and while his own memories were preferable to that of his mother's contained within him, they still weren't the best. Instead he thought on the Hokage's words and just what the old man had meant. So what if Naruto was a Jounin now right? He would simply take missions on his own like other Jounin, occasionally being forced into a team when the situation arose; but he was used to that.

His standing wouldn't change in the village; he was still just the monster, the Jinchuuriki, the reminder of what everybody had lost thanks to the Kyuubi. Hell, he might as well _be_ the Kyuubi for all the difference it made in the eyes of the villagers. Sure the ANBU may have gained some modicum of respect for him, but it was only because he was strong, because he was efficient, because he could get the job done… right? A low growl rose in the back of his throat as he held up his new Jacket; he had considered not wearing it to be honest.

On one hand it was rather bulky and movement-restricting, especially for somebody of his size. It would also let people know that he was a Jounin, fewer enemies would underestimate him. But then, wasn't that what he wanted? He wanted the recognition, he wanted the acknowledgment, he wanted his enemies to know he was strong before he could prove it to them. His growing reputation was already doing that in part so why stop there; most people would likely never believe he _was_ a Jounin without the flak jacket and that would simply get annoying after a while. Naruto had enough triggers to set of his temper without needlessly adding another.

He slipped the Jacket on all the same, deciding to think about it later; he left it unzipped though which gave him a bit more movement. Usually this was the sort of thing he would think about in irritation for a few days before begrudgingly going to see Saru and asking him about it, or perhaps Nezumi if it had more to do with his fighting ability. However he had learned his squad was out of the village on a mission. It was strange to be the outsider now; he should be on that mission and yet he was here, sitting on a rooftop in the village he supposedly protected, agonizing over something stupid like a jacket.

He grunted and pushed himself to his feet, glancing about and noticing it had gotten darker since he had sat down. The sun had set and stars could be seen twinkling behind the light cloud cover; great, it would probably rain tomorrow. He hopped down from the roof, deciding he didn't quite want to go back to his apartment yet where he knew the building would be empty and quiet without the bustle of his former squad mates. He aptly dodged between wandering drunks and the aforementioned 'strange women' as he slowly walked through the darkened, yet still brightly lit streets; the ever-present glow of the various bars and shops' lights giving everything a warm haze.

"Well screw you too!" Came a sudden and unpleasantly familiar voice, only with an added slur as a woman was ejected from a bar down the street in front of him. The bright light of the building's interior briefly lit up her tan trench coat and purple hair before the door was slammed shut. She swayed for a moment, her eyes obviously glazed and unfocused, before throwing the empty Sake bottle in her hand at the door. She was obviously drunk because the bottle veered far from her target, instead smashing right through the establishment's window.

"Crap." The crash of broken glass and the indignant yells of the bar's occupants and owners seemed to sober Anko up quite quickly as she turned to run from the bar. Unfortunately drunk was still drunk and in her uncoordinated haste she only managed to barrel right into Naruto, basically throwing herself on top of him as she tripped over her own feet. There was an awkward moment as she stared down at him where every nerve in Naruto's body ordered him to stab this annoying woman until she resembled a bloody pincushion; then she smiled.

"Gaki!" Naruto cringed back further into the floor as her alcohol-drenched breath washed over him; she was really drunk. But in that moment the bar's door slammed open and a rather burly-looking man rushed out, glaring at Anko and, due to association, Naruto. Anko hiccuped once before looking back at the man and blowing out a long and loud raspberry with her hands. Naruto was about to roll out from beneath her before she suddenly grabbed his hand, once again almost making him lash out at her, and began running, dragging him along for the ride and laughing as she did so.

The bar owner probably hadn't chased them very far but that apparently didn't stop Anko from gleefully running until Naruto wasn't even sure what part of the village they were in. Throughout the entire experience he had been trying to pull his arm away but the woman was surprisingly strong; stronger than he was, physically at least. It hadn't come to the point where he wanted to dig his chains into the ground but by the time they stopped outside of what looked to be a closed flower shop he was considering it. Finally Anko let him go, doubling over laughing and needing the extra hand to support herself on her knees.

"Heh, did you see that guy's face? He was all like 'stop!' and we were like 'Hell no!'" Anko finally managed to chuckle out as she straightened up, nearly leaning back too far and falling over only to catch herself at the last minute and grin. "What brings you around here Gaki?" Anko slurred as she turned to face him, her eyes glazed and trying to focus in futility. "You weren't looking for little old me were you?" She leaned forward so they were eye level only to hiccup and nearly fall over again. "Whoopsie!" Anko giggled, an unsettling sound from someone Naruto knew to be anything but girly.

"You're drunk." Naruto stated calmly, glancing about and wondering if it would be easier to get away from Anko in her stupor; she seemed to be faster than him naturally but maybe he could make her run into a wall or something?

"Only if you say so blondie." Anko happily drawled, attempting to poke Naruto on the nose, much to his consternation. "Heeey… didn't you owe me a drink?" She offered up suddenly, slurring the words almost out of recognition. Naruto simply grimaced and tried to walk away; he didn't need to deal with Anko tonight, especially not a drunken Anko.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Really, what were the chances of running into this one Kunoichi in the entirety of the village? However Anko didn't seem ready to let him leave and she was suddenly draped over his back, her chest pressing up against him in a very obvious and uncomfortable manner.

"Come oooon~ Gaki, come and drink with me." Anko giggled again as her eyelids fought a losing battle to stay up, the support Naruto offered too good of a chance for her inebriated body to pass up. "It'll be like a… celebration…" She grinned to herself at having found the right word "…you know, for you making Jounin and all that." Her increasingly limp body only pressed further onto him as she let her chin rest on his shoulder, a goofy grin pulling at her lips. "I bet you're a funny drunk… right?" She half-slurred, half-mumbled.

"I don't get drunk, like you obviously are; get off me." Naruto grunted in annoyance as he began walking again, only now he was dragging along an extra eighty kilos of curvaceous Kunoichi along with him. However Anko didn't seem to hear his request as she slowly brought a leg up to hook around his waist. Before he knew it he was suddenly giving the obviously insane woman a piggy-back ride; it was as good a death wish as any he supposed. At this point he could practically feel the chains within him waiting to be set free to eviscerate the annoyance.

"M'not drunk…" Anko murmured sleepily, wrapping her arms around the much smaller blonde and holding surprisingly tight despite her intoxication. "Just sad y'know?" Naruto's eye twitched slightly every time she would move her head, the spiky pony-tail she wore brushing against his neck and making it itch. However the Hokage's words about responsibility kept ringing within him, holding back the otherwise inevitable chains. "What do those morons know about Jounin 'nyway? Nuthin, that's what." Naruto blinked at that; had Anko not been promoted? Despite her grating attitude he had to admit she was capable as a Shinobi.

"Hehe, your hair is so yellow." Anko happily muttered, bringing a hand up to pet it like one might a dog; not exactly helping Naruto's train of thought. He swore to Kami that if anybody saw him like this… It wouldn't be good. Maybe that was Anko's problem? Her personality, or perhaps her flippant lackadaisical attitude; then again if that bubbly third proctor was allowed to become a Jounin then Naruto wasn't sure what to think. At that moment though Anko giggled, pulling on two of Naruto's spikes softly so that they resembled horns. "Heh, _now_ you look like a demon." The blonde nearly collapsed to the floor as his mind was assaulted by images.

* * *

_"Hehehe, Minato-kun the demon –'ttebane!" Naruto slurred drunkenly as he pulled the two locks of hair out to either side, ignoring the wince from the teen he was riding. "That's what your enemies will call you!" He leaned over, letting his long red hair drape over the blonde's head. "Drowning in the blood of his ene-hic!" He giggled, a hand up at his mouth as the small bout of chuckles quickly became full on laughter, his voice echoing in the quiet streets. The teen he was riding simply sighed, obviously less drunk than his passenger. His laughter caused him to let go and he was suddenly slipping back, only to be caught before he could._

_"Mmm, that's naughty Mina-kun, Y'not supposed to touch there -'ttebane." Naruto mumbled as Minato's hands cupped his rear to keep him supported, the boy could only offer a tired smile in return. His back was so warm, it just felt comfortable to lean forward, his eyes drifting closed._

_"Come on Kushi-chan, let's get you home alright?"_

* * *

"Ah!" Naruto snapped back up, managing to stay on his feet and keep Anko on his back, although the woman did nearly slip off, only giggling at her near-fall. He winced and held a hand to his temple, his breathing returning to normal quickly enough. However a scowl swiftly formed across his features as he returned to trudging forward along the streets. At this point he was tempted to simply dump Anko in an alley somewhere and go on his way; of course the woman had to go and fall asleep on him, her chin resting limply on his shoulder. He just grunted and kept going; thinking about other things so that Anko's breath right next to his ear wasn't so distracting.

He hadn't had a flashback in a long time; was being out of ANBU causing them to re-surface again? Naruto severely hoped not, it wouldn't be good for anyone if Naruto returned to his old, easily-irritable self from before the 'tomato-therapy'. He needed a mission to take his mind of things, he could do that now as a Jounin; yes, he would go take a mission. He paused suddenly in the middle of the street, eyes blinking once as he craned his neck to look at Anko's dozing form.

"I have no idea where you live."


	11. Eleventh Link

**I don't own it and at this point, halfway through my treatment, I still might not... ball's in your court Ryuk.**

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**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Naruto snarled something unintelligible as his alarm clock blared noisily in his ear, shocking him out of sleep. He rolled over to slam his hand down on it only to find he was a little closer to the edge of the bed than he remembered. With a muted grunt he hit the floor face-first, staring down at the carpet for a long few seconds as he attempted to burn a hole down to the floor below with his gaze alone. When he finally finished swearing a vendetta against alarms, carpets, beds and mornings in general, he slid to his feet and stumbled into his kitchenette.

A meal, a splash of water to the face and half a change of clothes later Naruto began his morning exercise routine which consisted of mainly pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups and a bit of training with his chains. He could only do speed training outside; the last time he had tried doing it in his room by running up the walls and ceiling he had woken up the entire apartment block. It was rather unpleasant to have the equivalent of an angry ANBU battalion staring at him outside his door, not an experience he wanted to repeat.

One shower and the rest of that change of clothes later and he was outside, hopping along the rooftops as the sun rose slowly on the horizon. It had become habit over the last six years of his life to rise at the crack of dawn, a habit he wouldn't soon be breaking. Plus it meant he could move through the village without having to deal with people; even merchants weren't crazy enough to get up this early. He might have to deal with the occasional ANBU patrol but they generally left him be which he both found amusement in and appreciated, even if the appreciation went unvoiced.

All of this had been somewhat of a routine after the Jounin exams almost two months ago. Get up, work out, shower, get dressed, go to the mission office, take a mission, come back, shower, get undressed, work out, go to bed, repeat. Non-stop he had been doing this, barely resting for extended periods between missions. The Hokage had been at first pleased with his work ethic, taking it as a sign the ANBU had trained him well, which was true. However when this continued passed the first month he began to recommend Naruto slow down; however there was nothing limiting the number of missions a Jounin could take so technically the Hokage couldn't stop him bar making it an order.

If he was honest with himself Naruto wasn't sure why he was pushing himself so hard, although it served as excellent training. It certainly wasn't out of any obligation to the village; as far as he was concerned it could burn while he was out on a mission and he would barely bat an eye. No, short of being ordered to as he had been trained, or his squad-mates being in immediate danger Naruto had very little compunction to protect his village. Some might have found this behaviour and attitude worrying, especially from the village's Jinchuuriki, and they would likely be right. It still didn't make Naruto care all that much.

There was also the fact that it kept him out of the village… namely away from a certain purple haired Tokubetsu Jounin. Anko had, for some reason that seemed beyond Naruto's ability to comprehend, made a habit of tracking him down while he was in the village and pestering him. A few weeks ago Naruto had stopped holding back, actively attacking her if she came too close; however the woman was damn flexible and could often out-manoeuvre his chains. Her favourite place to take up residence seemed to be his shoulders, riding around with a happy grin like he was some strange, bi-pedal horse.

There were also the flashbacks; ever since the re-integration into the standard Shinobi corp Naruto had noticed a rise in Kushina's memories popping into his head. Nothing debilitating or even that painful, but was irritating and people would give him funny looks when he suddenly bent over, hand clasped to his head. It likely contributed quite a bit to the insane image most people in the village had of him. Naruto attributed it to the fact that in Konoha there were just more triggers for the memories; places that Kushina knew or frequented, people she had known, certain phrases she had heard. It was aggravating.

However if Naruto was being really honest with himself over his workaholism… it was just something to do. Outside of ANBU he found himself lacking in really motivation to do anything; forming a routine seemed the best way to get past this. Previously he had his orders and his teammates to push him along, to let him know what he should be doing. In contrast his newfound freedom as a Jounin was almost maddening. Nowadays in those rare free moments he actually found himself in he just started to sort of… think.

It had been sometime in the middle of the second month he admitted he missed his time in ANBU. He missed the direction, the sense of purpose and most of all he missed his teammates. Missions were quiet now, none of the banter Tako threw out, Kuma's child-like observations or Saru's occasional words of wisdom that always somehow seemed to apply to the situation. Oddly enough he even missed Nezumi's silence, if that made any sense at all. He hadn't realised just how long he and his squad stayed out of the village until he was no longer among them.

Over the last two months he had seen them all of three times, and they were never back for more than a day. They were known as the trouble squad for a reason, when they stayed in one place for too long bad things just seemed to gravitate towards them. So they were kept busy and outside of the village, leaving Naruto alone, bored and constantly anxious unless he forced himself to do something. The missions and the relief they brought him were just a reprieve from the mind-numbing monotony of life without the vibrancy his teammates brought.

So in essence, there were a lot of reasons Naruto walked through the door into the mission office early that morning as the orange light of the sun was just beginning to stream through the large panoramic window. As was customary the Hokage looked up and gave the young Jounin a warm smile, handing off some reports to a nearby chuunin that had been relegated the task for the day. As Naruto understood it from his few talks with Izumo and Kotetsu at the gate, it was considered something of a punishment for chuunin. Naruto could say he was glad to have skipped it; he likely would have murdered someone if he was forced to do paperwork for a protracted period of time.

"Ah Naruto, bright and early as usual; good." The old man's brow creased for a moment as he began rustling about in a rather tall stack of papers that looked ready to tip over at a moment's notice. "Actually you couldn't have picked a better time to come in; there's a small matter I need handled quickly and I trust you to do that." He managed to retrieve the document without tipping over the paper mountain by some miracle and quickly opened it up.

"Yesterday Kakashi left on a C-ranked mission to Nami no Kuni with his genin squad." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that; he hadn't realised the famed Sharingan no Kakashi had taken up a squad. It seemed somewhat beneath such a vaunted figure within the village; a waste of talent. Then again he did recall Anko mentioning a certain 'scarecrow' having to put up with a bunch of brats which she naturally found hilarious; at least until Naruto pointed out that he could only do that because he had been made Jounin. She had been a bit stab-happy that night; it was the most fun Naruto had in weeks.

"On the way they encountered two C-ranked nuke-nin, the demon brothers from Kirigakure." The Hokage continued. Naruto was familiar with them; they were somewhat of an oddity in the bingo book as seperately they were considered C-rank, however together they were basically one B-ranked Shinobi. "Team Kakashi chose to continue the mission…" The Hokage grumbled something under his breath and Naruto knew the old man would be having words with the copy ninja by the end of the mission "…and the two were apprehended, apparently tied to a tree on the side of the road. I need someone to go and collect them, preferably transporting them to the nearest bounty station where the samurai forces can take them into custody." The old man slapped the mission dossier down on the desk.

"Feel free to keep the bounty as the mission pay; it isn't much considering your skills, but then it's fairly easy work." Hiruzen finished, taking a long drag from his pipe much to the obvious consternation of his chuunin helper who would have to be putting up with the second hand smoke all day. Naruto barely looked the folder over before shrugging and picking it up; it was a light run that would take him three hours tops on a round trip; barely a work out but it was a start. The two shouldn't even put up much of a fight if they had been bound to a tree for the entire night.

"Sure; seems easy enough. And if there are complications?" Naruto wasn't exactly a stranger to missions taking a sudden turn halfway through, even ones as apparently innocuous and innocent as this. The Hokage shrugged slowly before giving the blonde a small smile, a twinkle alighting in his eye.

"I'll defer to your judgement." He simply stated before returning to his work looking over the missions for the day; they would need to be appropriately ranked based on difficulty for the Shinobi coming in that day. Naruto's eyebrow rose at the statement though; he was basically just given free-reign outside of the village as long as he didn't deviate too far from the mission. Was he being tested or something? Naruto gave a curt and suddenly uncertain nod before retreating from the room, feeling the Hokage's eyes on him the entire way out.

He binned the mission dossier almost immediately, knowing all he needed to and made a break for the nearest window. It was the fastest way out and he suddenly wanted to get this mission done with as soon as possible; it was giving him bad vibes. Five years in tense, stressful and often hair-triggered missions in ANBU had taught him to trust those kinds of suspicions. He was a Shinobi; there was no such thing as paranoia, just an appropriate sense of danger.

* * *

By the time the sun had finished peeking out over the horizon, casting long shadows to the west, he was already dashing full tilt in the direction of Nami no Kuni. The small water-locked nation wasn't actually that far away from Konoha; at the pace he could set it would barely take him three hours. Of course to the merchants and civilians that usually made the trek that was more like fourteen or fifteen hours. In that vein it didn't take him long, only an hour or so, to locate the site where the two Nuke-nin should have been tied up. Emphasis on 'should have been'.

He found the ropes they had been bound with as well as a few signs of a scuffle including blood on the ground and a log that had obviously been used in a substitution… but no Kiri-nin. Naruto stood there a moment blinking and wondering what he was supposed to do now. As far as he could tell there were no overtly obvious tracks leading away from the site save those that likely belonged to team Kakashi and tracking had never been his forte; that was Tako's job. However he had accepted a mission and he damn well intended to complete it.

He supposed if two low-ranked Nuke-nin had attacked a Jounin like Kakashi it was because they were being paid to; or they were idiots. That meant that if they were now free they would likely try to complete this mission despite their obvious failure. They also obviously had accomplices; Naruto doubted a couple of chuunin missing-nin like them could have gotten out of a binding an experienced Jounin like Kakashi could create. Although why these accomplices did not help was a mystery.

A mystery solved when Naruto followed on the trail of Kakashi's team right over the watery divide between Hi no Kuni and Nami no Kuni. He discovered the site of another battle, this one obviously more intense given the signs of Jutsu damage and the greater prevalence of blood. This time he found two different tracks leading away, on obviously Kakashi's team and the other their attackers. He found it a little odd that Kakashi hadn't pursued so he was obviously missing something here. Not knowing the severity of the situation Naruto decided against following after the attackers.

No, technically he was interjecting onto another mission and as the senior and more experience Jounin he would have to defer to Kakashi in this instance. He didn't particularly like it as he was sure it would be much more fun to chase after attackers strong enough to give Sharingan no Kakashi a run for his money but as a former ANBU he wasn't one to break protocol so easily. That was why a few minutes later he was curiously examining a small cottage hidden away in the woods on the outskirts of a nearby fishing village.

"No no, don't worry yourself about it…" To his surprise the door suddenly opened, revealing a young woman with long dark-blue hair who seemed to be waving off somebody inside "…I can handle something like this on my own." She turned around only for the soft smile on her face to suddenly change into a look of shock as she caught sight of Naruto, or more specifically the flak jacket he wore. She jumped up in surprise, a small squeaking noise escaping her lips that Naruto found more amusing than would have been deemed appropriate. However another hurried glance over his form revealed the Konoha headband tied around his bicep, allowing the woman to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Who are you?" A cold, snide voice drawled; naturally the startled yelp from the woman drew the attention of whoever she was talking to and Naruto soon found himself confronted by a trio of Shinobi that looked to be around his age. The one who addressed him, a dark-haired boy wearing the Uchiha crest, was staring at him intently; Naruto thought he recognised him from somewhere but he couldn't bring himself to care. He gave a cursory glance to the pink-haired girl behind him and the other dark haired boy with an unsettlingly fake smile, and Naruto had seen his fair share.

"Where is Hatake?" The abrupt question from the blonde seemed to startle the first two while the boy with the strange smile simply stayed to the back, impassive and unreactive. However the boy who spoke initially seemed to re-gain his nerve quick enough.

"Why do you want to know? Who are you anyway?" He asked imperiously, his eyes searching the blonde's form, intently, sliding over the dark green flak jacket more than a few times. Deciding that he didn't particularly like this boy, although that wasn't exactly startling, Naruto turned to the one who seemed more passive.

"You are Hatake's team right?" Naruto addressed the fake-smile boy who just gave a quick and curt nod in return, making the first boy seethe at being ignored so blatantly.

"Yes Jounin-san; genin Sai, Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke." He answered in an oddly toneless manner considering the smile plastered on his features, however it was clinical and short which was good enough for Naruto. It was more amusing to watch the girl, Sakura's, reaction to the fact he was a Jounin; she was obviously thrown by his age. Hell, he was shorter than the two boys there… which was decidedly annoying in the blonde's opinion.

"Okay, didn't ask your names but whatever; take me to Hatake." Naruto continued, pushing passed Sasuke and into the house; the woman had scurried off by now, obviously deciding that whatever was going on was 'Shinobi business'. Sai however stayed where he was, that same creepy smile on his face. Naruto was no stranger to faking emotion, even if he wasn't great at it, but even he knew that was just weird.

"I'm afraid I can't Jounin-san, Kakashi-Sensei is injured and unconscious. I can't be sure you aren't an enemy Shinobi in disguise trying to assassinate him." Behind the two, Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened considerably; they obviously hadn't even considered the possibility. Now they were looking at his with much greater scrutiny, and not without reason considering everything Sai just said could be true. Naruto simply growled lowly before releasing a gruff noise from the back of his throat, cracking his neck.

"Fine, whatever. I'll be back in an hour but if Hatake isn't up then I'm waking him up; I can't act properly until I talk with him anyway." And with that he made to leave the house, only to find his way blocked by Sasuke; the boy seemed to take some kind of pleasure in standing over the blonde. If it wouldn't cause him serious trouble back in the village Naruto would have very much liked to remove a few of those inches; maybe off the boy's legs?

"Have we met before?" Naruto simply scowled at him before pushing passed, shocking the boy as Naruto easily shoved by him despite their discrepancies in height. If Naruto could block a sword swing from Nezumi he could shove a genin barely month out the academy out of his way.

"Does it matter? Get out my way _genin_." Naruto snarled, taking great pleasure in lauding the rank in the same way the Uchiha had his height. A smirk alighted on his lips as he walked away from the small house; maybe it was Anko's corruption or his inner sadist acting up but maybe, just maybe, this mission could be a bit of fun.

* * *

Naruto didn't have to return to the house in the end because Kakashi came to him. The lanky man ducked under the curtain of the small outdoor food stall Naruto was eating in only a few minutes before Naruto was considering heading back to the cottage. He didn't look up from his bowl of ramen, silently cursing his mother's damnable addiction to the salty food, but acknowledged the older Jounin's presence with a small grunt. Technically they were both of the same rank, but with more years and experience under his belt Kakashi was undoubtedly the superior in the situation and Naruto's conditioning demanded he at least recognise it.

"So you're the kid that shook up my cute little genin eh?" Kakashi plopped down in the seat next to the blonde, raising his fingers to casually order a bowl sent his way. Naruto didn't miss the look the grey-haired man sent to the small stack of similar bowls off to Naruto's side. However the volume was only in part due to Kushina's avid ramen obsession; no, a trained ANBU knew to take a meal when they could. Field work could often take days of inactivity and patience, and that meant no food either in some cases.

"I wouldn't say 'shook up'." The blonde muttered with a small smirk, causing Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. "No, I'd use a word like 'stressed' or 'agitated' or even 'harassed'." Naruto quickly downed the rest of the bowl's broth before turning to the older Jounin with a feral smile. "Those words are a bit more fun don't you think?" The uncomfortable atmosphere Naruto was trying to build was quickly shattered when the masked man simply gave him a friendly smile, or at least the one-eyed, mouth-covered equivalent.

"Well, it seems your reputation certainly fits 'Kusari no Naruto', although people fail to mention your extensive vocabulary." The older man chuckled to himself as his own ramen arrived, giving a playful wink to the young girl behind the counter. He seemed a bit put off when the cute, if not a little thin, teen didn't even bat an eye. She seemed too tired to really care even if just a hint of red stained her pale cheeks; lethargy and apathy seemed the norm in Nami no Kuni, with the occasional sprinkling of depression and hopelessness here and there.

"Shame I can't say the same for you 'Sharingan no Kakashi'." Naruto glanced around to see the Jounin's reaction but got nothing except the sight of the man somehow destroying his ramen without ever removing his mask. It wasn't exactly something Naruto was unused to; he had even been taught how to do it, but with his known dislike for the ANBU mask and his penchant for breaking it in his 'moods' he didn't use it often. "The other's often talk about you with high praises, citing your efficiency and ruthlessness." That seemed to get to the man, making him pause his eating almost long enough for Naruto to catch a glimpse of his face; almost.

"Well, ANBU makes you a very different person; but you know that already right Naruto-kun?" Kakashi countered, enjoying the slight twitch that entered Naruto's eye at the diminutive suffix. The blonde huffed as he stood up from the counter, throwing down his money which the local girl immediately scrabbled for as if her life depended on every single ryo.

"I don't see it; you look almost as lazy as a Nara." Naruto returned as he slowly cracked his neck, Kakashi joining him as he finished his bowl as paid as well. As they ducked back under the stall flaps, Kakashi more than Naruto much to the blonde's chagrin as the taller man made a show of it, they caught a hurried call to come back again from the stall girl before they were back outside in the grey, lifeless streets of the small fishing village.

"Well appearance are deceiving Naruto-kun, underneath the underneath and all that." Kakashi rebutted casually with an absent wave of his hand as Naruto's eyes widened. That was a very common phrase within the ANBU, yet for some reason not with the older members and the more experienced captains. So it had been Kakashi who introduced the phrase; it made sense he supposed, as a captain Kakashi had a great deal of influence within the corp. If Naruto had been a few years older he could have run missions under him during the brief time their black ops careers overlapped.

"Right." Naruto murmured, taking a closer look at Kakashi as the man lackadaisically made his way back in the direction of the bridge-builder's house. He tried to spot a glimpse of the man that had put fear in ANBU trainees, respect in the eyes of the captains and even caused Saru to have a few words of praise for him. All he got was a lanky, carefree pervert reading smut in public. Now he understood Nezumi's seemingly irrational dislike of the man; anybody who read those Icha Icha books Tako was so fond of, in broad daylight no less, was likely just as bad and worthy of the sword mistress' ire.

"So what brought you down this way Naruto-kun?" Kakashi interjected over the blonde's thoughts, trying to strike up the conversation as the two moved past the outskirts of the village. The chain-wielder's eye twitched; he would get the man to stop calling him that. "Come for the beautiful aesthetic of rural Nami?" He motioned out with his arms to the misty panorama behind them only for the effect to be ruined as a homeless man crouched in an alley corner let out a rattling, unhealthy cough.

"Cleaning up your mess." The blonde grunted irritably; something about the general atmosphere of the country was seriously annoying him. He wanted to instigate something just to get the people around here moving. For a normal ANBU being ignored was the stale idea for their profession; however for Naruto it just served to irritate him. What was the point of attacking someone if you didn't at least have them acknowledge you first? There was no satisfaction.

"I was ordered to come collect the two Nuke-nin you ran into on the way here." Naruto continued as his face settled into its natural scowl. "Only they obviously had accomplices as they escaped before I could reach them." Kakashi nodded in understanding at that, not that Naruto noticed, focused on the man's apparent limp.

"That would be-"

"Momochi Zabuza. I know." Naruto interrupted the taller man, taking the wind from his sails as the silver-haired Jounin slumped forward exaggeratedly. The one-eyed scarecrow sighed and ran a hand through his hair before plastering on his usual carefree expression.

"Did my students tell you?" He asked cautiously, having learned in not too many words from Sakura that the three genin hadn't had the best of experiences when meeting Konoha's resident Jinchuuriki.

"No, I found the site of your fight; there were very large sword slashes all over the place as well as evidence of the Hidden mist technique. Considering Kiri-nin, even rogues, tend not to partner with anybody but their own…" Mostly because most Shinobi refused to work with members of the bloody mist for fear of being stabbed in the back "…and they had to be powerful enough to put you of all people in this situation, at least protecting a pack of brats like you were…" Kakashi sent him an indecipherable gaze at that comment, obviously not agreeing "…it had to either be Kubikiribochou's wielder, or Kabutowari's." Kakashi nodded, impressed with the deduction.

"And you knew it was Zabuza…" He left the comment hanging, waiting for Naruto to finish, only to be surprised as the blonde grinned ferally. If this was how he had acted around his genin no wonder they were unsettled.

"Because I was there to watch Akebino Jinin die." Now _that_ had been an entertaining mission; coincidentally the first time Naruto really began to appreciate Nezumi's mastery over all forms of weaponry. He was fairly certain she still had the 'Helmet Splitter' hanging up on her wall in her apartment, although she tended to cycle through weapons in there fairly quickly. He was certain that she didn't even care it was one of the supposedly legendary swords of the mist; to her it was just another weapon; one that didn't do its job considering where it now was and where its former master now lay.

"I bet there's a story behind that." Kakashi interjected, interrupting Naruto's pleasant memories of one of his later missions in the corp. They had only gotten more fun as time went on and their difficulty increased. All Kakashi got though was a grunt, diverting him back to the topic on hand. "Well in any case, I'm sure that the demon brothers, if they're still your targets…" The silver-haired man looked around and confirmed Naruto's curt nod; ANBU didn't do things half-assed. If Naruto was given a mission to go collect the bodies of Gozu and Meizu, he damn well was going to collect their bodies; one way or another "…are likely hiding out wherever Zabuza and his accomplice are." Naruto looked up in intrigue, not missed by Kakashi.

"At the end of our fight, while I was disoriented from my Sharingan's use, a hunter-nin arrived to collect Zabuza's body. At the time I missed the signs, but now I'm sure they were a fake; they took the body away after all." Naruto just nodded; that was far from the norm among the Hunter-nin. Naruto knew that and he hadn't even had that much interaction with Kirigakure.

"Well then, just give me the name of the guy who hired them and I'll be out of this backwater country in a few hours." Naruto replied with another toothy grin, revealing canines that looked quite a bit longer and sharper than was normal. It was a good thing Naruto's grins were relatively rare, it was a disturbingly carnivorous sight.

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy." A new voice cut in, the dry, expressionless tone of Sai; it made Naruto realise they had already reached the bridge-builder's house. The blonde sent a searching glance at the pale kid but the boy didn't seem to react in the slightest. "The man who hired these Nuku-nin was Gatou." Upon Naruto's blank, unimpressed stare Sai continued. "The Shipping magnate." Again Naruto just stared at he boy, his eyes only narrowing slightly. "The current de-facto owner of Nami no Kuni." At that point realisation dawned on the short Jounin as a growl rumbled from his throat.

"So you see the problem then." Kakashi interjected before Naruto could bore a hole through Sai's forehead figuratively, or maybe literally. Unfortunately Naruto did see the problem; as the owner, and therefore ruler of Nami, much like a Daimyo would be, Gatou had a form of unspoken diplomatic immunity. A man with that kind of power and sway couldn't just be targeted with no good reason. It would firstly reflect badly on him as a Jounin, a relatively new one at that, then it would reflect badly on Konoha, unacceptable for an ANBU, and finally it wouldn't accomplish anything.

"So what was your plan?" Naruto finally growled out, looking back to Kakashi and ignoring the way his genin were staring at him with a diverse array of expressions. The man had to have some sort of game-plan considering he was in a similar boat. His mission wasn't done and their main threat was recovering somewhere just waiting to pounce, likely alongside Naruto's own targets.

"Well, I figure Zabuza will take around a week to recover enough to confront me given his injuries and the technique the fake hunter-nin used to simulate his death." A quick glance at the lack of reaction from the genin made it clear they had already been told Zabuza wasn't dead. "I was going to use the time to get in some intensive training for my squad, to get them up to par to help in the coming fight." At that Naruto could only snort earning mixed looks of ire, confusion and apathy from the three genin.

"Why? I didn't realise the Hokage was advocating suicide missions for those outside of ANBU these days." He ignored the indignant squawk from Sakura and the scathing look from Sasuke in favour of turning back to the silver-haired Jounin. "Sending three genin against Momochi Zabuza and a Shinobi skilled enough to even impersonate a hunter-nin is like throwing them in a meat grinder." Naruto didn't particularly care for their fates, but it was a waste if nothing else; plus that Sai kid wasn't completely intolerable.

"I think dickless over there is technically correct Kakashi-sensei." Sai's dull monotone cut in and just like that that it was like a scratched record had gone off in Naruto's head. Everything in the clearing suddenly became deathly quiet as Sakura looked at Sai in horror, Sasuke palmed his face and Kakashi sent worrisome glances between the still smiling genin and the suddenly frozen Jounin. Naruto's eye twitched once as he turned to Sai with an ominously slow turn.

"_What did you say to me?_" Naruto almost whispered, chains beginning to emerge from his shoulders and back as his hands seemed to naturally claw inwards. It was like a cold, dense waterfall of freezing water had descended over the genin as they all felt the pressure of Naruto's Chakra weigh down on their bodies. Sakura's eyes widened frightfully, her mind being thrown back to the confrontation with Zabuza. Sasuke seemed to be struggling with himself, torn between running the hell away from that terrifying presence and being excited by it.

"Ah… I apologise?" Sai finally spoke up, shattering the tentative silence as he seemed to remain blissfully unaware of the sheer death facing him down. However the stoic, emotionless boy did note with some incredulity that his hands seemed to be shaking for some unknown reason as something unidentifiable quivered in his stomach. "The books I read told me that giving nicknames helps form bonds between people; was I wrong?" Naruto simply stared at the boy until Sai began to feel an odd constricting sensation around his chest, the chains around Naruto's body only growing longer and vibrating anxiously.

Finally though Naruto took a very long and very deep breath, the scowl still the furthest it could be from retreating as he finally reigned himself in. The long and well-worn mantra of 'don't kill your fellow Leaf-nin' ran through his head like it was the catchy verse of a new song. With a final grunt that conveyed more annoyance than outright hostility the pressure over the clearing seemed to finally lift, allowing Sakura to breathe easier even though it hadn't been focused on her.

"Get better books." Naruto ground out before turning to leave; he'd figure out his own way to deal with the Gatou problem. Maybe later though; right bow he felt as though if he were to tackle the situation he would simply level the man's house and everything inside.

"Actually Naruto…" Kakashi called out before the blonde could vanish entirely. "I was about to teach my students how to climb trees without using their hands. If you would be kind enough to demonstrate I'm-" However the man was cut off as chains suddenly whipped out from Naruto's shoulders, grabbed a nearby tree and simply ripped it right out of the ground. They unceremoniously set it down in front of him and with a quick hop he was up on the now horizontal trunk. He turned back to team seven and gave a positively ferocious grin.

"There…" His chains snapped back into his body with a crack that nearly made Sakura jump "…no hands." And with that the blonde flickered and was gone in a customary Shunshin. A few moments of silence passed before Sai looked around to Kakashi, still bearing his unsettlingly fake smile.

"I don't think that was the correct method Kakashi-Sensei." All three other members of team seven looked around at the pale boy incredulously, making him open his eyes slightly. "What?" It finally seemed to break the tension in the clearing and the other two genin quickly took it as an opportunity to move back into the house. However Sakura made sure to let her feelings be known as she passed the dark-haired boy; she never wanted to be subjected to that feeling again.

"You're an idiot Sai."


	12. Twelth Link

**Well, I'm not dead yet... so there's still hope for owning it.**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Naruto could honestly say he was having a rather strange week as he clung to the underside of a thankfully sturdy tree branch without Chakra. It was a technique Nezumi had taught him, often used to freak him out periodically, and had become invaluable recently. The reason he was doing this task without Chakra was for the same reason he had forgone his normal clothes in favour of a more camouflaged affair, the stalker he knew was out there somewhere in the forest. They were either a damn fine sensor, able to pick his signature up from hundreds of meters away, or they were the luckiest bastard to walk the earth and were somehow always in the right place to catch him.

There was the third option that they were simply following Naruto all the time and he didn't know, but his pride as a Black-ops prevented him from considering the scenario.

The week was strange for a number of reasons, most noticeably his growing confusion regarding Kakashi, and his varied interactions with the man's genin team. He just couldn't understand the man; everyone he had met only held praises for his abilities and professional attitude. However from what he saw he was a lot like Tako, a shameless pervert that liked to read porn in public and flirt with hapless stall-girls half his age. Once he had challenged the man to a spar to finally put the issue from his mind, he understood people best while fighting anyway.

The man had the gall to refuse because, in his own words, he was still 'recovering'. Not an hour beforehand he had seen the man use a frivolous Shunshin just to escape the wrath of Tsunami after she caught the man peeping on her changing. It had disappointed and aggravated both Naruto and apparently, Sasuke as well. He too had been asking for spars with the blonde Jounin but those had been easier to shrug off than his own requests of Kakashi because every time he would simply cite rank and the inappropriateness off-handedly.

In truth it was just because Naruto couldn't be asked to fight with a genin, no matter how talented. There was no danger, no risk of losing, no adrenaline rush that made high-level fights so interesting and intoxicating for the young Jinchuuriki. He could always have that with his teammates, they never held back against him so every confrontation felt like a brush with death. A genin on the other hand? No, there was no excitement there, not like with this game of cat and mouse he was playing with his mysterious assailant. A grin spread his lips as he thought back to their first encounter.

* * *

_Naruto hopped along the trees listlessly, having just picked a direction to go in and ran. He was talking out his ass when he said he would deal with the Gatou problem by himself; he hadn't a clue how to go about doing that. He was a weapon, a fighter, an act-first think-later type of person; he didn't plan, or scheme or any of the other things leaders and politicians did. Searching the entire island nation for two runaway Nuke-nin didn't sound all that fun for him and neither did waiting around until they might show up to face Kakashi and his team._

_As he was running through a copse of trees a tingle on the back of his neck warned him something was wrong. On instinct he pulled his head back, only to have it replaced by three thin objects that thudded heavily into the trunk of the tree he landed by. Blinking in surprise Naruto turned his head to see that it was a small cluster of senbon, the combat kind. He had seen them used by an ANBU operative that also like to use them as hair ornaments so the actual weapon was no surprise. However from what he could remember they took a great deal of skill and dedicated training to learn to use effectively._

_"So, that would make you the fake hunter-nin." Naruto growled out with a grin as his eyes scanned the surrounding trees. His attacker was obviously adept at hiding themselves as he didn't even feel a lick of their presence until he heard the faint whistling in the air. This time his chains erupted from his body to swat the irritating implements out of the air. They lashed out at the direction the weapons had flown from but all he got for his trouble were the sounds of trees toppling over. Just as he was about to chase after the assailant, likely leveling quite a bit of the scenery in the process, he found there was no need._

_"You are a feral animal; if you come after Zauza-sama I will put you down if I have to." The hunter-nin stated emotionlessly in a neutral, inoffensive tone from their position on an opposing branch. From their voice, plus the rather shapeless battle-kimono and mask the figure wore, Naruto struggled to put a gender to the hunter-nin. However he did identify the threat the figure hadn't felt the need to hide, causing him to grin viciously._

_"As fun as that sounds…" He growled almost playfully, certain he was getting a strange look from the face under that mask "…I'm not after your master, just the two chuunin hiding behind him." The hunter-nin seemed to regard him differently for a moment before he continued. "If they keep hiding behind him though… well, then Zabuza will be in the way; unfortunate but… these things happen." The shift in the figure's posture was immediate, becoming tense and defensive; however it only elicited a laugh from the blonde._

_"I will stop you." The androgynous figure repeated, this time their words held a little more emotion; most noticeably a cold edge that was almost daring him to. Naruto only felt it right to respond in turn._

_"What's stopping you then?" The blonde called out tauntingly, holding out his arms to either side. However he maintained his grin and made a show of his chains moving about like snakes watching their prey, vibrating in anticipation. The figure remained quiet before crouching down, more senbon sliding out of their sleeves._

_"I can only give so many warnings." They intoned quietly before the thin metal weapons flashed through the air like lightning. The clashed uselessly off the golden Chakra constructs but in that brief moment Naruto lost sight of them, vanishing back into the underbrush._

* * *

That certainly hadn't been their only confrontation, nor even the most interesting. After that they had clashed a few times, each when Naruto was out searching the forest for any signs of them, which in turn he imagined the fake hunter-nin was covering up. It was one big game of hide-and-seek, only when Naruto found them he would try to kill them instead of just 'tagging' them and instead of simply hiding, they were laying traps and periodically ambushing him. He had to admit the not-a-hunter-nin was getting a lot more creative in fending him off, a good antithesis to his general brute-force approach.

* * *

_Naruto's grin was practically glowing as trees splintered around him, showering him in sharp debris in the form of splinters. His opponent was becoming more wily as the days went on. They were fast, almost if not as fast as he was; they had obviously been heavily trained from a young age. Good, it wouldn't be much fun if they weren't at least a challenge. However so far they seemed content on challenging his endurance and abilities to doge as opposed to any real fighting skill which they had quickly learned were second to none for his age group. Nobody could beat a Jinchuuriki when it came to stamina and Nezumi made very sure that he could dodge all manner of thrown objects._

_However, as Naruto chased his mysterious opponent through the trees, he knew he almost had them cornered. He knew there was no conceivable way they had any senbon left on them; they had already thrown a small armoury's worth and the battle kimono was only so spacious. There was also the fact that not a single barrage had been thrown for the past few minutes, even if Naruto had the few tears on his clothes to display the last couple. While they were fast, and agile, they were called Konohagakure for a reason; nobody beat a Leaf-nin in the trees._

_His chains lashed out again, this time snagging flesh instead of wood and he was instantly rewarded by a startled cry as the fake hunter-nin was sent tumbling to a stop in a relatively open clearing. Naruto quickly joined them, landing with a splash atop the small stream that wound through the open space. At some point the person's mask had fallen off, landing a few feet away. They quickly made a move to scramble for it only to realise they still had a leg bound by a glowing golden tether. In the moment it took them to free themselves, Naruto had already collected the mask, turning it over in his hand curiously._

_"This is the real deal; which Kiri-nin did you have to kill for it?" Naruto asked with a slight growl to his tone; the chase had been thrilling and he was still riding on the adrenaline rush; it gave him a rather savage grin. At that moment the mysterious figure looked up and Naruto realised… absolutely nothing. Just like their voice the figures features were frustratingly androgynous; it could have been a feminine boy or an immature girl. They didn't seem to be that much older than Naruto in fact, maybe fourteen or fifteen at most._

_"I didn't kill anybody." They ground out between gritted teeth, warily standing up when it looked as though Naruto wasn't going to make any aggressive movements. Naruto just chuckled before snapping the mask in two with the ease one might a twig. He had quite the past of breaking ANBU masks by accident, doing so intentionally wasn't very difficult; they were supposed to cushion impact damage anyway, not strain._

_"Sure you didn't." He drawled lazily, throwing the two splintered halves of the mask over each shoulder and returning his gaze to the figure in front of him. "That was a fun chase and all, but if it's alright with you I'd like to get to the really fun part." The figure scowled at him and Naruto relished in it; it was annoying not being able to see the expressions on his opponent's faces… took half the fun right out of it._

_"You're a violent brute." They spat, obvious frustration written over their features; however it only made the blonde chuckle._

_"And you like to repeat yourself." Naruto shot back with a grin as his chains writhed around him eagerly._

_"Why do you even fight? Such strength as yours is wasted on yourself." They shot right back, causing Naruto to briefly pause._

_"I'm a Shinobi, what kind of question is that? We fight because we are ordered to and sometimes, if possible, we can just enjoy a good fight." Naruto answered; he could already feel his elated mood start to leak away as his adrenaline subsided and the Hunter-nin's words struck him._

_"Then you will stay weak." They sighed, their expression a mixture of disgust and disappointment. That really struck something in Naruto; that dismissive look, as if he weren't worth looking at. It was how the villagers had looked at him before he started fighting back, before he accepted what he was, what they wanted him to be. A feral smile replaced his anger; he would just have to show this person that feeling as well._

_"We'll see who's weak when this is over; what's your name?" He growled out, body tensing up to act on a hair-trigger._

_"Why?" The fake hunter-nin asked cautiously, moving into a stance of their own that looked suspiciously flighty._

_"Someone might as well remember it after I fill you so full of chains there'll be more metal than flesh." Naruto snarled, his eyes alight with amusement as he waited for an unspoken signal to move._

_"Haku, it's Haku." And there it was; suddenly Naruto's chains shot forward like they had been held back by invisible springs stretched to their limits. However Haku wasn't idle, their own hands whipped out, producing senbon that shouldn't have logically been there. In his brief surprise Naruto managed to take one directly through the palm, causing him to wince and his chains to falter a moment. Haku used the opportunity well to escape back into the safety of the trees leaving Naruto to glare after them, suddenly not feeling like chasing anybody for now._

_He growled in the back of his throat before ripping out the senbon from his hand, immediately noting how damn cold it was and the way his blood seemed to be seeping into it instead of just staining it. He blinked after realising the senbon was made of ice, wondering just how Haku had managed to produce one. He turned it in his hand, watching the way the clear construct turned pink with his blood before, after an indeterminate amount of time, simply melting away all of a sudden._

_"Interesting…"_

* * *

And it was interesting; it also wasn't the only time he saw that particular ability, and not just in that form. Haku seemed quite fond of using his, and Naruto was assuming he was a boy just to satisfy the pronouns in his head, icy senbon. However he would also freeze up tree-branches to make them more brittle or cause Naruto to slip, reduce the air temperature while running to deter the blonde and even once frozen over a large pond only to suddenly unfreeze it. The sudden shock of having liquid under his feet again caused Naruto to fall right in, giving the faux hunter-nin time to escape.

However every encounter and every chase gave Naruto a clearer image of just whereabouts Zabuza and his accomplices were hiding. Haku would always lead him in winding, confusing paths on their chases but they were always away from a particular point. Enough clashes and Naruto figured he had pretty much triangulated his position. The androgynous ice-user would regret underestimating him as a 'savage brute', not knowing about his many years serving under quite possibly the wisest man Naruto knew aside from the Hokage.

He ducked into a small and inconspicuous entryway in the ground, emerging into a rather barren and lifeless stone corridor. He assumed the Nuke-nin had stumbled across, or quite possibly known about, an old underground staging point from one of the wars. The bunker seemed to fit the bill, bearing old and worn carvings of Kiri's insignia on the walls at periodic junctions. However one thing it didn't seem to contain was a group of Nuke-nin, making Naruto grit his teeth in frustration. He was sure this was the right place; there were even signs in one of the chambers of medicines used to help Zabuza recover.

However if the Nuke-nin weren't in, that meant they were…

Naruto growled, taking off out the entrance and sprinting back across the island; the hideaway wasn't too far from the bridge where Zabuza and Haku would no doubt make their ambush. The question was whether or not it would be too late; the former Kiri-nin had shown the capacity to wear down Kakashi once, and this time he wasn't alone.

When Naruto finally reached the bridge his suspicions were confirmed by the thick blanket of fog that seemed oddly localised to the area as well as the muted sounds of fighting somewhere within. He dove headfirst into it, softening his footsteps as he had been taught and quieting his breathing. He was reckless, not stupid and he was incredibly wary of Zabuza's silent killing technique for which he was known. Hopefully his fight with Kakashi, as he could only assume the two Jounin chose each other as targets, would keep him occupied.

He proved to be right as he managed to sneak up on both Jounin by some miracle, neither having expected company beyond their respective aides of the Genin and Haku. Suddenly they each found a massive carving blade and a lightning-infused fist to be the least of their concerns as a veritable tidal-wave of glowing golden chains burst out of the mist like some kind of machinery explosion. Both were promptly bound and suspended in the air, straining uselessly against the already slack chains they could get no leverage from.

"Ah hello." Naruto greeted almost conversationally as he stepped out of the mist, getting a highly confused and murderous glare from Kakashi and Zabuza respectively. "Sorry to intrude, I was just wondering if either of you knew where Gozu and Meizu happened to be." Both Jounin seemed to blink in surprise, ceasing their struggling for a moment.

"What the hell is this? Let me go Gaki or I'll carve your head from your body, and then everything else along with it." Zabuza growled threateningly; he was straining his muscles and despite Naruto's best attempts, he was slowly overpowering his chains. Naruto rectified that by hovering a very pointy and very eager-looking chain directly over Zabuza's heart as well as a few other vital points. The irony wasn't lost on the practitioner of the silent killing and he sent a particularly vicious glare at Naruto but he stopped trying to escape all the same.

"Why would I care where those two idiots are? They're probably off eating takoyaki or something in town; I'd never bring them along to any self-respecting fight. They're more likely to get in the way Of kubikiribouchou than be any actual help." Zabuza ground out, eyeing the glowing chains warily and wondering why they hadn't struck yet when the boy had a perfect opportunity.

"Ah… Naruto?" Kakashi interjected nervously; at least he didn't have chains poised at him, although his bindings _were_ rather tight. "Why am I bound too?" He asked quickly, noticing that Naruto didn't seem to be in the best of moods right now.

"Because Kakashi, you would just attack Zabuza and I'd never get the answers I needed; plus, this is your fight. I'm not going to just swoop in and save you, or take away your battle. I may be a murderous, sociopathic Jinchuuriki, but I have manners." Naruto shot back in an almost exasperated tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. By now Zabuza was a lot more fearful of his current predicament bound by a clearly unstable, but powerful individual. However a moment later and his fears proved to be unfunded as Naruto suddenly set the two men down.

"Considering Zabuza doesn't have the information I need, I will have to go elsewhere." In a flash the chains suddenly unravelled and disappeared into the Jinchuuriki's body with a sudden crack that managed to penetrate the fog despite its dampening quality. "As you were." He added as an afterthought before vanishing back into the smothering mist, leaving to the two men rather awkwardly standing around.

"That kid ain't right in the head is he…" Zabuza muttered with an indecipherable expression only for it to twist into a look of exertion as he brought his massive blade around to block a rapid strike from Kakashi.

"You have no idea." The silver-haired Jounin sighed out, his mind quickly leaving the blond and returning to the fight at hand. Zabuza wouldn't be taken by surprise like that again in so many minutes.

* * *

Naruto slinked through the fog again, drawn to the sounds of others fighting besides Zabuza and Kakashi. Sakura, off to the side with the bridge builder Naruto hadn't made any effort to learn the name of, went mostly ignored. The further he got from the two Jounin's fight, the thinner the mist became until it looked almost like what you might expect early in the morning from the coast of an island nation. The better visibility allowed him to see a curious sight, namely a large, rough dome constructed of numerous floating panels of what looked to be glass, but on second inspection turned out to be ice.

"Haku…" Naruto grinned and made forward only to catch sight of the two boys battling for their lives inside of the strange dome. More than a few frozen senbon stuck out from their bodies, even more littered the ground like the interior of some tundra cave. It looked just like the kind of frantic, fast paced fight that served to get Naruto's blood boiling. However as he ran forward Haku must have noticed him just outside his dome, when he approached the nearest couple mirrors of ice slammed together, forming a kind of blockade. When he moved back they separated again, different panels coming together when he approached from different angles.

He was just about to try smashing through before stopping himself, his chains vibrating just a few inches from the nearest panel. He took a long, drawn-out breath before grinning and backing off, his lips tugging into a smirk. 'So you want to finish off the kiddies before taking me on? Fine, I can wait if it'll make you more susceptible to fight.' The blonde stalked off, suddenly appearing next to both Sakura and Tazuna and giving the pair a fright when they finally noticed him.

"Ah! N-Naruto-san." The pinkette squeaked in surprise, her green eyes momentarily going wide. Tazuna didn't seem to be doing much better, shaking slightly in Naruto's mere presence. The blond wasn't exactly being subtle with his Chakra thanks to his adrenaline and it was beginning to press down on the area like a palpable weight. "W-What are you doing here?" The Kunoichi, although Naruto used the term lightly considering Nezumi was his standard for Kunoichi in general, asked hesitantly.

"Waiting, what does it look like?" Naruto growled out, his chains drumming the floor rhythmically liked a normal person would do with their fingers. The repetitive four-beat pattern echoing out into the mist like the approaching drums of some powerful war-party. It was causing both Sakura and Tazuna to stare at him nervously, the latter even more than the former.

"Ah Naruto-san, a-are you not going to help Sasuke-kun… or Sai?" The last part seemed to be added in as an afterthought by Sakura, making Naruto chuckle.

"Why should I? Not my fight; it's not even my mission." Until the Demon brothers showed up the blonde was obligated to do jack all; technically sitting here and not searching for them was the real breach in rules. Sakura just gaped at him though, clearly torn between her fright and wanting to shout at him; it made for an amusing sight in Naruto's eyes.

"B-But they're our comrades! We're all Konoha Shinobi!" She finally managed to eek out, her voice admirably raised despite the slight catch. However any of that strength seemed to leave her when Naruto tilted his head her way almost negligently, an indecipherable look in his blue orbs.

"_Your_ comrades; I didn't even know about them before this week; you think that makes me feel obligated to do anything?" Naruto replied coldly, a hint of something deeper in his tone that chilled Sakura to the bone. It wasn't strictly true of course, Naruto had managed to dredge up memories of how he and Sasuke really met first, back in the academy. Although it didn't really count because it had been a brief encounter ending with Sasuke getting a chain through the leg; Naruto had experienced so many similar meetings since then that they all tended to blur together a bit.

"B-But…" Sakura waved her arms uselessly struggling to come up with something so say. She had been taught in the academy that the foundation Konoha was built on was the will of fire, mutual trust in comrades and the power of teamwork. Unfortunately if it burned in Naruto, then it was little more than a piteously spitting flame.

"If you care so much then why are you standing around here?" Naruto interjected suddenly, grinning as he caught the Uchiha getting peppered in another spray of senbon; he knew that feeling and it wasn't pleasant. Sakura spluttered a moment before glancing back at Tazuna nervously.

"Someone needs to protect the client." She said, or asked, her voice sounded uncertain under Naruto's cold, level stare.

"From what? Both enemies are engaged; joining in would only hasten their defeat, or prove the team was never able to defeat them in the first place; either way the bridge-builder would survive or die." Naruto offered coldly; it was a very logical approach that was very much a standard in ANBU, but no less true. If Sasuke, Sai and Kakashi failed, what hope did Sakura have holding their enemies off? If she joined in and they still lost then there was never any chance of success to begin with. Tazuna suddenly jerked as a chain whipped out of Naruto's shoulder, prodding him in the chest suddenly.

"If it helps I could push the bridge-builder over the edge of his bridge; he'd be a lot safer…" The blonde glanced down over the side of the enormous concrete structure "…if not a bit roughed up." The Blonde knew he was being a bit harsh on the girl but it was just too amusing to see her waver and falter like this; nobody in ANBU was this feeble so he hadn't got to have his fun this way in a while. If the genin were in real danger then Naruto would step in; he didn't need to deal with the headache that would come from allowing Leaf Shinobi to die on a mission he was at least involved with. However during their chases Haku had never gone for kill shots, only incapacitation; if that was against a Jounin like him, the genin had no need to worry.

"A-Ah no don't." Sakura grabbed the chain on instinct to keep it away from Tazuna only to wince as its sharp edges dug into her palm. Naruto obligingly removed the chain, watching as a miasma of flickering emotions ran rampant on the pinkette's features. It seemed to finally set on some form on steady determination before faltering as what sounded like a thousand birds chirping in unison broke out on the bridge. Everybody's eyes turned to the source without exception only to see the mists around Kakashi and Zabuza's fight begin to clear.

They were met by the odd sight of Zabuza being held down by a pack of rather varied dogs, his body was bruised and slashed and he didn't seem to be in a good way. Kakashi didn't look all that much better, however the source of the noise was definitely him as he wound up for a Jutsu Naruto had only heard about in hushed whispers back in ANBU. He clutched his wrist tightly, a look of concentration on his face as white light in its purest form seemed to condense around his bladed hand. It crackling and pulsed, releasing arcs of electricity that singed the air and left the acrid stench of ozone to permeate the bridge.

Everything that happened next seemed to take place in agonizingly slow motion for all involved, even those without the Sharingan in their heads. Kakashi dashed forward, hand behind him ready to strike out with the most powerful piercing Jutsu ever developed in Konoha. Zabuza could only struggle against the iron grip of the dog jaws he was trapped by, eyes widening as Kakashi drew closer. The air just in front of the swordsman glittered for a moment as a large panel of ice suddenly formed from the heavy water vapour in the air. This time Zabuza widened his eyes for a different reason as Haku suddenly emerged from the mirror like he was breaking from the perfectly still surface of a lake.

"Rai…" Kakashi began, his own eyes set; it was too late to break off now, his momentum had left him with no other choice than forward. He couldn't have stopped if he wanted to; there wasn't enough time to discharge the enormous amount of energy in his hand without hurting himself. "…kiri!" He finished in a shout that somehow managed to transcend the deafening chirps of his own Jutsu. However at that last moment, as Haku closed his eyes behind his porcelain mask in resignation of his face, something suddenly wrapped around his neck.

Everything snapped back into normal speed as Haku was forcefully yanked right out of the ice mirror, the surprise on his face evident behind the mask, and Kakashi plunged his hand forward. The lightning blade stabbed right through the blocky panel of ice, as hastily formed as it was, and embedded right in Zabuza's chest. However it didn't pierce his heart, Haku's sacrifice at least buying him the time to shift his body out the way so he ended up with a fist through his right lung. It was still a mortal wound, but not an instant death; this gave Zabuza enough time in the land of the living to raise his enormous cleaver high above his head, a jagged grin forming on his lips.

"Good fight, Hatake…" Before he could make the downwards swing, his energy just seemed to… give out. His eyes glazed over and the blade slipped from his limp hands, clattering uselessly to the concrete ground with a deafening clatter. He slid off of Kakashi's bloodied hand with a wet squelch, slumping to the floor as his last few ragged breaths escaped him. With every strangled inhale more blood dribbled from his lips and slowly his body jerked less and less. Other than him there was almost absolute silence on that misty bridge; at least until…

"ZABUZA-SAMA!" A piercing cry rang out on the bridge as Haku collapsed to his knees, mask discarded to one side so that the tears streaming down his face could be clearly seen. He clawed at the chain around his neck but couldn't break free of it, at least until Naruto suddenly allowed it to uncoil, causing the fake hunter-nin to collapse forward ungracefully. He quickly scrabbled forward, barely making it to his feet before falling at Zabuza's side, weeping and glancing over his body frantically. However it was useless, Zabuza's eyes were glazed and his heart had already stopped; there was nothing anybody could have done for him.

"Are you angry?" Naruto's voice suddenly cut in, an odd gleam in his eyes as his face stayed oddly, and unsettlingly, neutral. Kakashi looked back around dispassionately, having been walking over to check on his two male students when the blonde had spoken up. However he saw Naruto was talking to Haku, staring at the kid intently even if the dark-haired senbon-user didn't look up. "Do you want revenge?" His voice called out again, only now he was walking forward, his eyes narrowed as he took in Haku's shaking shoulders. The faux hunter-nin was wracked with sobs, although they seemed to be subsiding somewhat as Naruto approached.

"I've been told it's like a flame inside your chest." Naruto continued, that same unidentifiable expression plastered on his features. "Apparently it just burns at you, growing and growing and growing until you just want to let it out and burn everything with it." By now Haku had stopped shaking, tears only dripping down his stained cheeks instead of pouring out of his eyes. "Come on, burn me with it." Chains emerged from Naruto's back, twitching and shaking in anticipation as the blonde's lips started to twitch up.

"I…" Haku started before falling silent, another silent sob rocking his body as his fists clenched; the sight made Naruto's eyes gleam in the misty morning light.

"Come on…" Naruto urged, the chains whipping about and slashing into the concrete indiscriminately and leaving large score-marks in the bridge. "Come on…" He tried again as he saw Haku's hands clench, the ice-user making a move as if to stand. "Come on come on come on!" Naruto practically shouted, by now getting strange looks from the remaining conscious members of team seven; not that he cared or even noticed.

"I…" Haku tired again, the sound coming out croaky and hoarse as he once again tried to get to his feet.

"Come on! Your master is dead, killed by Konoha Shinobi!" Naruto missed Kakashi's pained wince as he said that; but again, he wouldn't have cared anyway. "Come on burn me with it! Burn me with that hate! Let me feel it dammit!" By now Haku had somehow managed to rise to his feet, albeit shakily, his head bowed forward so his now messy hair shadowed his eyes. However for just the fleetest of seconds he looked up and Naruto saw the smouldering glint of hatred hidden in those normally soft brown orbs.

Then… it was gone.

The spirit left Haku almost the same way the life had Zabuza; his eyes became deadened, losing any kind of glint in the slightest and he sank back down to his knees, looking ahead despondently.

"NO!" Naruto cried out in annoyance, his chain suddenly whipping around to strike Haku in the cheek, sending the teen sprawling across the bridge. However where he came to as stop he simply lay there, unmoving and unresponsive. He was still conscious but he seemed dead to the world… just staring ahead soullessly. "No no no!" Naruto called again, his chain coming around for another go, just to get that response back; he had seen it. However it snagged; Kakashi had intercepted it and was holding the glowing construct tightly, the effort obviously hard on his battered body.

Naruto could have shrugged him off and continued anyway; the man had just come out of a strenuous fight and wouldn't have put up much challenge. However another look across at Haku's lifeless form and he just allowed the chain to retract, spitting to the side in irritation.

"Whatever." He growled out, scowling at nothing and everything at the same time. Kakashi just seemed glad the unstable Jinchuuriki had actually listened to him and not decided to take out his frustrations on him or his team. Luckily something did come along to distract the frustrated blonde in the form of a diminutive businessman and his horde of bandits. By the time he was through 'relieving his stress' any bandit that wasn't caught up in that maelstrom of bloody golden chains had retreated from the bridge or thrown themselves off it just to escape him.

By the time they returned to Tazuna's house, a despondent Haku in tow, Naruto couldn't exactly say he wasn't still angry, but damn if it didn't help.


	13. A crack on the chain

**Still kind of hard to believe Naruto is ending... I wanted it so much!**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

The atmosphere in the bridge-builder's house was beyond tense, the only sound that could be heard was Sakura's nervous breathing and the rhythmic tapping of Naruto's fingers. The blonde was perched, as that was the only way to describe the way he was sitting, on the back of a chair; he was staring so intently at Haku that the genin thought the faux hunter-nin's head might explode. However Haku simply continued to stare forward at the table where they were sat, usually soft brown eyes soulless and unfocused. Even when Sai walked across the room, his usual fake smile plastered on his ridiculously ignorant features, and poked Haku, Zabuza's former apprentice didn't even flinch.

"So are you a boy or a girl?" The former ROOT operative piped up conversationally, completely ignorant of his inappropriateness. Even Naruto raised an eyebrow in his direction before returning to staring at Haku intently, as if he could will some kind of reaction to occur. Sakura was a little more vocal in her incredulity as she slapped the dark-haired boy on the back of his head.

"Read the mood baka!" She shouted irritably; the room had been far too tense for someone to do something that stupid; it was like lighting up a cigarette in a room full of gunpowder. She spared a glance at said metaphorical gunpowder and sighed, glad that Naruto hadn't decided to do anything but continue to stare. Sai simply rubbed the back of his head and turned to his female teammate, his expression eerily unchanging.

"But I read in my books that is only polite to start up conversations with new acquaintances; if I do not know Haku-san's gender, I might make some kind of social error." He suddenly pulled out a small book that seemed to be some kind of instructional manual and glanced down at it. "From what I understand there are quite a few of them." For the first time since Naruto had met Sai he saw something other than that ridiculous smile on his face as the boy frowned down at the book. "They are… difficult to follow." Sakura's eye simply twitched; she had obviously dealing with this quite a bit.

"Yeah, but you don't make a social mistake just to stop yourself making a social mistake you damn idiot!" She groaned loudly, her hands shaking slightly and looking as though she wanted to rip some hair out… preferably from Sai. She took a calming breath as Sai frowned down at the book again, obviously confused by the social hurdles that were instinctual to well adjusted people; not that Naruto could talk. "Anyway, Haku-san is not our acquaintance; she… ah I mean, he…" Sakura paused blinking and in the corner of the room where Sasuke had been loitering, the Uchiha smirked slightly.

"I am female, Sakura-san." Haku intoned blandly, her eyes remaining unchanged as she barely moved her lips to speak. She seemed so completely devoid of energy it was like something had just drained the life out of her, leaving her a blank, empty shell. For the girl in question, that wouldn't have sounded too different from how she felt.

"A-Ah I knew that!" Sakura defended, twisting a strand of long pink hair around her finger nervously with a shaky smile before looking back at Sai, apparently her target of vented frustrations. "Exactly; she's…" However she trailed off again, blinking rapidly as her mind failed to mesh any gears into a coherent thought. "Ah, sensei? Why is Haku-san here? I-If Zabuza-san is…" She spared a glance at the girl before motioning with her hands in a vague manner "…then aren't we not enemies anymore?" From where the silver-haired Jounin had been lazily leaned back in his chair, Kakashi finally poked his head up from behind his book.

"Good question Sakura, but I'm afraid you're asking the wrong Jounin." The tall man drawled before returning to his precious reading. Naruto simply scoffed, not moving his eyes from Haku as he glared. He was sure that Kakashi would be more than happy to let Haku simply walk away if it saved him any extra work.

"I'm taking her back to Konoha." Naruto growled out lowly and that seemed to be all he had to say on the subject. However before the room could descend back into an uncomfortable silence Kakashi spoke up again, this time not even bothering to look u as he lazily turned a page.

"She isn't a missing-nin Naruto." He intoned lazily, his expression not changing even a little.

"Don't care." Naruto growled again, his tone a little more fierce as if daring someone to defy him. Kakashi remained unmoved.

"You can't drag back random people not involved in your mission; that's not how shinobi work." Kakashi shot back casually before giggling perveredly at a particular scene in the book.

"She has shinobi training which makes her a potential threat." Naruto returned, finally shifting his glare onto someone other than Haku.

"But she is not a shinobi, or at least a registered one." Kakashi had surprisingly made the effort to check the bingo book and she wasn't mentioned.

"She has the training." Naruto retorted, grinning viciously before Kakashi could argue. "And she has a bloodline, an extinct one." He leaned forward on the chair's back, still grinning.

"We aren't Kumo Naruto; Konoha does not just take in strays for their bloodlines, nor do we kidnap people for them." Kakashi argued, still looking unperturbed as he turned the page again. Naruto could only scoff.

"What about Tenzo?" The blonde shot back with a smirk, causing Kakashi to start for a moment and confusing the genin present.

"Tenzo was a… special circumstance; that was for his protection, and his bloodline belonged to Konoha." Kakashi argued slowly, actually looking up from his book to meet Naruto in the eye; of course the blonde would know about the ANBU's little secret. However all he saw was Naruto's vicious and distinctly victorious smirk.

"Well then, I suppose Haku's bloodline is the property of Kiri; I could easily make the trip to the shore and _give her back_." He practically purred, his eyes boring holes into Kakashi as the man thought about it; he knew exactly what Kirigakure would do to a bloodline user in their current political state. The condition of the Bloody Mist wasn't exactly a secret. Haku didn't even react to the blatant death-sentence, just staring dully forward with blank, unseeing eyes.

"Haku is her own person, she should make that decision herself." Kakashi argued reluctantly, suddenly wary of Naruto. The blonde simply grinned; he may not be the best at all this social interaction stuff, however he didn't have to be. Kakashi was an easy man to figure out if you simply looked hard enough. He cared about people, it didn't matter why but he did. It was that compassion for those he saw as having a rough time that made him so predictable. He wouldn't send Haku off to the death-sentence that Kiri represented.

"In the end Kakashi-_senpai_…" Naruto stressed the suffix sarcastically "…it doesn't matter; the Hokage left matters of mission deviation up to my discretion." His head swiveled back around to stare at Haku and his smirk grew, a chain rattling out of his shoulder and hovering a few inches from the girl's body. She still didn't react. "But if it makes you feel better…" The chain poked the girl in the shoulder roughly but Haku still didn't move. "…why don't you say something Haku? Argue that you want to go off on your own?" He hopped off the chair and slid around the table to stand beside the girl, cupping her chin and tilting her head in Kakashi's direction.

"_But Kakashi-san, I don't want to leave Naruto-sama's side!_" The blonde mimed in a poor representation of a girl's voice as he worked Haku's jaw to roughly coincide with the words. With Haku's dead, dull eyes it made for a rather disturbing sight. Kakashi grimaced lightly beneath his mask but couldn't find it in him to comment. Anyway, the more he looked at Haku's lifeless and lackluster form the more he thought that letting her go off on her own would more than likely kill her.

"Nah, she doesn't want to leave us; do you know why?" Naruto continued, this time drawing Haku's face up so that they were staring directly at one another. In any other situation their proximity might have been misconstrued as intimate they were so close. "Because she knows that staying with me is the best shot she has at revenge." And for just the briefest moments a flicker of… something, alit in the girl's eyes before dying back down to the dull haze she had existed in since Zabuza's death.

"T-Then why would you want her around?" Sakura managed to question meekly, her confusion evident. Naruto simply cocked his head in her direction and smirked; he had forgotten the genin were even there.

"Because I want her to try." He let go of her face, allowing it to droop back down so that she could stare blankly at the table again; he wanted to see that smouldering fire in her eyes again. Things just felt too incomplete as they were; he was wholly unsatisfied. "But first, I have some business to take care of!" Naruto continued in an oddly and very much uncharacteristically upbeat attitude. He bopped Haku on the nose with his finger on the way out, grinning madly in a way that severely unsettled the two genin that weren't emotionally stunted.

* * *

Meizu sighed happily as he took a deliciously warm bite from the Takoyaki in his hand, waving to a passerby that just hurried on quietly. It didn't bother the missing-nin in the slightest; he was used to it by now. People always either gave them fearful looks or kept their heads down and moved on. It was likely because of the large and decidedly vicious-looking clawed gauntlet on his hand that was twinned by the one on his brother's. He wasn't too bothered, it made the stall-owners rush to get their orders procured and quicker food was only a good thing. It helped that they also didn't have to pay; usually the viscous purple ichor dripping from their weapons was incentive enough.

He chuckled absently as he bit into the delicious little chewy ball again, finishing it off before licking his fingers clean. He really did have a good life all things considered; Kiri had always looked down on him and his brother anyway so who needed 'em? Out here the only thing they had to worry about were the occasional high-level shinobi they were sent after, or far more likely, Zabuza snapping one day and taking both their heads off in a rage. They were lucky Haku was always there to keep him calm, even if the girl was a stuck up little ice-queen in the making. He still remembered how the girl told him and his brother that she was a boy; messed up his outlook on life for months.

"We really do have it good don't we Gozu?" He sighed lightly, reaching for another Octopus ball before frowning as his hands clasped around nothing but air. He swivelled in irritation, about to lay into his brother for nicking his snacks again only to freeze in sudden and very real fear.

"Mhmm, these _are_ good." Naruto purred as he finished off one of the little snacks, eating it right off the thin chain he had skewered them on without the former Kiri chuunin noticing. "Don't you think Gozu?" The blonde looked to his left where Meizu's brother hung by his neck from a golden noose, scrabbling at the Chakra construct cutting off his airway in futility. "No?" Naruto snorted and waved at the suffocating man dismissively, turning his attention back to the man's brother. "What does he know, right?" He continued, almost conversationally; that cemented Meizu's fear that the teen in front of him was certifiably insane.

"Oh?" Naruto started, as if realising some great misfortune before grinning sadistically as another chain was brought forward, a thick dumpling skewered on the bladed end. "Did you want one?" He growled in amusement as Meizu stayed rooted to the spot; not out of fear, but because two more chains had burst from the ground and wrapped around his ankles. "How rude of me." The chain moved forward, pressing at Meizu's lips with the Takoyaki until the man was forced to open his mouth, whereupon the snack was shoved forcibly into his mouth.

However further torment was cut off as Gozu's scrabbling began to slow, his breath coming out in pleading, rasping wheezes. Naruto grunted in irritation as he dropped the chuunin, letting him slump bonelessly to the ground. It really was a shame he had to bring these guys to the bounty office alive. He shrugged carelessly to himself as his attention turned back to the wide-eyed Meizu. It didn't say just what condition he had to bring them though.

* * *

Hiruzen sighed heavily as he leaned forward in his chair, a hand coming up to support his forehead as he glared at the desk for a good few minutes. Finally he took a calming breath, placed a smile on his face and looked back up. Unfortunately Naruto was still there; he had hoped he could simply will the problem away but childish hopes were for younger men.

"Well Naruto, you certainly know how to bring me the ah… interesting problems at least." The old Kage sighed half-heartedly, looking to one of his ANBU in the corner of the rooms only to get a blank stare… damn masks.

"I completed the mission." Naruto stated unhelpfully, leaning casually to one side as he set the finished mission papers down on the desk causing the Sandaime to groan as he saw it building upon his already weighty stack of paperwork.

"Yes, yes you certainly did, a week later than expected, but you did…" The Hokage glared at the blonde only to get an indifferent stare… damn ANBU training. "…without notification. You know Naruto, there is a limit to how far I am willing to trust your judgement in these matters." Hiruzen sighed out weakly, playing out with the end of his pipe as Naruto looked on with a cocked eyebrow.

"You left matters changing the mission parameters up to my discretion." Naruto supplied, making the Hokage nod exaggeratedly as if he had only just remembered.

"Ah yes I did didn't I?" He felt like throwing the pipe across the room at that point; he could quite pin down why though, strange. "Naruto I did that, trusting your discretion to be to at least warn Konoha that you will be returning later than scheduled from a mission. You are a powerful Shinobi, your absence is noticed more than you might imagine and people start to… wonder." He sighed again, putting down the pipe and steepling his fingers. "Your former squad returned three days ago, they wanted to pass along a message for you." Naruto's other eyebrow joined the first in his hairline.

"From now on you will spend one day a week with them, missions allowing, training to control your… condition as you had been before your removal from the corp. Given your track record on missions, the last notwithstanding, I feel that you have integrated well enough into the regular forces that this training is viable again. It does, after all, hinge quite greatly on your emotional state." He nodded, more to himself than anything, before shifting his gaze to the side.

"Now, what am I to do with you Yuki-san?" His eyes narrowed slightly, all the different arguments Naruto and Kakashi had discussed and more flashing through his mind without even needing to hear them. "Unfortunately releasing you to the world would likely have dire consequences; you past affiliation to a rather infamous missing-nin would likely draw you as a target for Kirigakure. You skills and the lack of shinobi identity on the other hand would draw a very different kind of attention and with your training only part-way complete at best I fear you would not hold long against their advances, whatever their plans." And that was saying nothing of her obviously unstable mental state.

"In the end though it is only within my power to offer you a choice. Leave Konoha and attempt to brave the world and whatever plan it has for you on your own, or stay. You could find a happy life in Konoha, I assure you." The man smiled genuinely at the girl who could only stare lifelessly down at the ground. "Of course, with your training I would be able to grant you a position within Konoha's shinobi corp. if you so wished. Your lack of background and village affiliation makes this both ideal and simple." He sighed, trying to break through the dull, grey shell around the girl but it was in vain; Haku was already broken.

"Or, you could simply live here, build a life and never have to fight again." He finished, reaching for his pipe again; Kami knew he needed it when Naruto was involved, and he wasn't even with that squad any more! Silence pervaded the room for a long while Haku stared at the ground; after a good few second though her head lifted slightly, dreary brown eyes glancing up without energy.

"I… would like to stay." What else could she say? If she left the village she would probably starve somewhere, lacking motivation to move, never mind eat. She felt like she would deserve it, for failing Zabuza, for failing in her very purpose in this world. However the primal human instinct in her urged her to survive, to not die; even if it meant a lifeless half-existence.

"Ah good." The Hokage smiled again; truly he cared little for 'collecting' bloodlines like Kumo was so want to do. However as the leader of a shinobi village, with its best interest always in his heart and he could not deny the boon a nearly extinct bloodline could be. "Then I will need to assign you a chuunin or Jounin level Shinobi as a sort of… parole, if you will. You will not be a prisoner by any means and you will not be restricted in you movements beyond the obvious places, but it is standard procedure for those whose loyalties are not confirmed. I hope you understand." Haku nodded once, it could barely even be called a movement though; it wouldn't have disturbed a fly.

"I'll take her." Naruto suddenly spoke up, shocking both the Hokage and the ANBU in the room. The pipe nearly fell out of the old man's mouth and one of the operatives in the ceiling's corner nearly lost his grip and fell.

"Now Naruto, you have to, ah, understand the responsibility involve-"

"I accept." Haku's quiet, inoffensive voice called out to the room, shocking the Hokage further as he looked at her, trying to puzzle what was going through the girl's mind. Even Naruto was a little surprised considering all the goading he had done; maybe a little had actually gotten through? In any case a grin quickly overtook his features and he slung an arm around Haku's shoulders, pulling her rather roughly into him, the smile on his face practically feral.

"You heard her Hokage-sama, I'm a Jounin so I qualify right?" The blonde stated happily, although 'Naruto happy' was more akin to 'normal sadistic glee' and it was readily obvious.

"Well… yes." The Hokage admitted slowly, his mind awhirl; however the grin from before was nothing compared to the one the blonde now sported; it was decidedly more toothy.

"Great! What do I have to sign?"

And apparently that was that, Naruto had gained a ward… somehow.

* * *

Haku's eyes slid open slowly, staring blankly up a the dark ceiling above her. A slight tilt of her head showed her what she already knew; night had descended and the moon was out. It shone through the window of her small room, technically Naruto's living room but hers for the moment. There was a serene brightness to it that her eyes simply failed to reflect. Without a sound she rolled off the couch and stood up, gliding across the floor so silently she might as well have been a ghost.

She paused at the door to Naruto's bedroom; when the matter of living arrangements had come up the Hokage had offered her an apartment of her own At the time she had cared little for where she lived so simply acknowledged that anything would do. Then, continuing his uncharacteristic vein of sudden 'generosity' Naruto had offered up his apartment and with Haku's passiveness on the subject the older man was forced to accept the arrangement.

Her pale hand ghosted along the door handle turning it without so much as a creak and sliding further into the room until she was almost hovering above the sleeping blonde's form. A single chopstick slid from her sleeve, a remnant from their awkwardly quiet dinner earlier that she had sharpened into a fine point to rival one of her senbon. She didn't trust using Chakra at the moment to create one from water vapour, but it would still do its job.

However her hand simply hovered there, pointed end of the makeshift weapon just a single inch from Naruto's carotid artery. A simple slash and in just three beats of his heart Naruto would have bled out. He may have been able to retaliate in that time, possibly killing Haku in the process as he had shown to be surprisingly dextrous and efficient with those chains of his in their encounters. However Zabuza would have been avenged, he would be able to rest easier in the world he had moved onto.

Right?

Then why did she hesitate? Why did her hand only hover, muscles locked in place as she struggled to do anything but stand there, poised but unmoving? Was it because this would be her first kill, the first time she had truly set to take a life? Blood would be on her hands, but it would only be for a moment before the blonde retaliated in turn, both of them dying in this place. Perhaps it was that small part of her that simply willed her to survive crying out again, staying her hand.

Zabuza had told her that the first kill was always the hardest, and even in the quagmire of blood that the man's graduation ceremony had become, he remembered the look in that first child's eyes. However he had also told her it was a part of a shinobi's life that they would inevitably have to face one day. Haku had persisted though, reminding herself over and over that she was not a shinobi, the she didn't _have_ to kill. No, not unless Zabuza ordered her to; for him she would give up that last shred of him she would stain her hands so his weren't dirtied further.

But Zabuza was no longer with her; his guiding, fatherly voice no longer sounded in her ears. She was alone, because a Konoha-nin had taken him away from her; a Konoha-nin like the one resting unaware beneath her, an inch away from death by her hand.

So why did she hesitate?

She didn't know, wouldn't know really, but whatever the reason it was enough to make her take a trembling step back, the chopstick falling from her limp hand. She forgot about concealing herself, her breaths coming out ragged as she looked down at her mildly trembling hand, the hand that had been about to take a life. Was it not her own philosophy that strength came from protecting the things one cared about? What was she protecting by doing this? A memory? The pale girl suddenly felt sick, wanting nothing more to leave that room.

"Well, that was disappointing."

Haku froze at the voice, the awfully familiar and growling voice, as Naruto rolled over in the bed and stared at her with his very much awake blue eyes. Suddenly bright, glowing chains that lit up the darkened room in various hues of gold shot from Naruto's body. They caught on Haku's clothing, a simply blue kimono she had been provided, and lifted her up, digging into more than a few uncomfortable places as they slowly wound around her body. By the end of it she was wrapped up in what most would have called a rather obscene shibari position with her hands tied by her feet and her back bent to push out her chest.

"Are you going to kill me now?" Haku intoned dully, any fear she felt from the situation overpowered by her utter lack of energy. It was oddly liberating to be this completely apathetic to the situation, to her own potential death. Naruto almost seemed irked that his attempt to get a reaction from her with the compromising position was met with nothing but a cold lifelessness. He snorted though, lowering her down towards him so that they were much closer.

"And miss out on amusing moments like this? Why in the hell would I do that?" He shot back with a vicious grin, only to have Haku direct her glazed stare down at the bed. He made the chains jiggle her in mid-air, putting a little more pressure on her back, but she didn't even struggle. For the blonde who had grown so accustomed to seeing similar victim cower, or beg, or strain against capture… it was irritating. "Seriously? Nothing?" He questioned with a growl, only to have Haku lift her head slowly.

"I am… confused as to why you know such binding techniques, but I do not care, no." Haku intoned softly; she felt as though if she didn't talk Naruto would grow more frustrated, making her position even more awkward and painful possibly. She may have been apathetic, but she wasn't a masochist; at least she thought she wasn't. She didn't feel anything in particular from being dominated so thoroughly, but she was always rather submissive in nature. Naruto's gruff chuckle told her all she need to know about whether the blonde was a sadist though.

"I have a… friend, whose life goal was to master _every_ weapon, in _every_ way it could be used. That includes chains and ropes; she is always very insisting that I learn as much as I can." Naruto stated, sounding oddly conversational considering the weird situation they were in. Personally Naruto simply believed Nezumi was secretly a bit of a pervert, despite her vehement demonization of Tako. Often it felt like Kuma was the only sane one in the group, and that was just… worrying. "Why, do you like it?" Naruto grinned viciously, jiggling the girl again only to receive no outward reaction, much to his chagrin.

"My arms… are beginning to ache." Haku admitted softly, there was no real infliction in her voice, so signs of emotions underneath the pale mask of her face; it was like speaking to a machine. "Why do you do this?" She continued after a momentary pause to look at nothing in particular. "Why keep me?" It was rather odd to hear somebody talking as though they were literally an object to be possessed. Naruto grinned, allowing Haku to 'unravel' but still suspending her, moving her about in various poses.

"Why else? Because it's immensely amusing." The blonde chuckled, moving Haku's body so that she was sitting cross-legged mid-air like a genie from those books Saru had always made him read when he was younger. It wasn't really 'forcing' her body into position, because Haku wasn't resisting in the least; she was like a life-sized marionette lacking the strings.

"That's it? Amusement? A whim?" Haku sounded out, as if testing the words; there might have been some incredulity there behind her apathy but it was difficult to tell. She would be a plaything, a toy in no greater sense of the word, only there until Naruto grew bored of her and she was discarded, again.

"Well, there's also the fact you confuse me." Naruto elaborated gruffly. This time the confusion was a bit more evident, something breaking through the insufferably blank mask of her face as she looked up at the blonde.

"Con…fuse?" Haku sounded out again, blinking slowly.

"Yeah, I saw strength in you; I wanted to know where it came from." His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "No, I _want_ to know where it comes from; I want to test it against mine, I want to know!" He growled, his voice gaining a bit of an edge as he unconsciously drew the girl closer to him, staring right into her semi-glazed brown eyes as if searching for something.

"My strength?" Haku repeated slowly before her head drooped, her eyes losing that brief moment of clarity as she withdrew in on herself again. "My strength came from Zabuza-sama, he was my… precious person." She had told him this before, in one of their confrontations in Nami, that true strength came from the will to protect something cared for. At the time of course she had been dodging his chains as they attempted to skewer her, but the point remained.

"So get something new to care for! I need to see that strength again!" Naruto growled, more fiercely this time; by now their faces were only a few inches apart and even a few days ago Haku might have blushed from the close proximity to a boy her age. What she did do was smile tiredly, the first she had managed since Zabuza's death, even if it didn't reach her eyes at all.

"The heart is not so simple; you, a feral beast, wouldn't understand." She replied, her voice retaining its usual apathetic quality but containing something more. There was a sense of righteousness there, a small victory for her as she gazed into his irritated blue eyes.

"Sure it's simple, I've seen enough to know! Just two beats to remember, over and over. The only thing that's important is whether I'm trying to slow someone else's, or speed up my own!" He shot back, the grin trying to return only to be blocked by that annoying half-smile on Haku's face.

"And that is why you will never be truly strong." She replied almost instantly, only causing Naruto's ire to grow.

"What would you know about strength? You were about to kill me earlier; you may not have…" He brought her closer to the point where they couldn't even see the entirety of the other's face "…but it was there wasn't it?" Their eyes bored into one another, intense arctic blue glaring into apathetic chocolate brown. "Just for a moment, a flicker of something white hot inside of you, burning to get out, to discard your morals and just take revenge?" His eyes darted almost manically, searching for something, _anything_ in Haku's eyes as she dully stared forward.

"Why do you care so much?" Haku finally asked as Naruto let them separate slightly, obviously not having found what he searched for.

"Because I don't feel it!" Naruto shouted back, his face twisting into a snarl. "I _can't_ feel it!" He just couldn't hate anymore, physically couldn't, and he knew why. There was nothing he truly cared about enough to hate anything. The villagers? They could rot in hell for all he cared, he felt nothing but apathy and pity. The demon in his stomach? He had never met the creature and it was very, very difficult to hate something you couldn't even put a face to, and Naruto had tried.

"I want to feel something!" Naruto finally shouted, eliciting a long, drawn out silence between the two as they both simply stared at one another. Naruto breathed heavily, his chains twitching anxiously as the heavy silence pressed down on both of them.

"You are truly broken, aren't you?" Haku finally said, the very first true twinge of emotion in her voice since Zabuza's death… and all she had was pity. Pity for the hollow beast in front of her that was so unfeeling that it couldn't even experience such a fundamental human emotion as hatred. She couldn't even hold scorn within her, couldn't see him as a representation of the Konoha that had taken her master away.

However pity wasn't what Naruto was looking for and suddenly pain shot through Haku's body as she was violently thrown back, smashing right through the door of the bedroom and impacting heavily with the couch. It tipped over from her weight as her body made a nasty indent in the piece of furniture, crashing to the ground with a sense of finality. By the time she picked herself up, clutching her ribs but not making a noise of protest or pain, Naruto was there. He just stood in the broken doorway of the bedroom, staring at her coldly with his hands twitching. But he didn't move, or attack, or do anything; his eyes simply narrowed and he turned away.

"I'll get you a futon tomorrow." And with that he walked back into his room, not even able to slam the shattered remains of the door. Haku stood there, listening to the sounds of him getting back into bed before staring down at her own, as partially destroyed as it was. She didn't even bother to upright it, simply laying down on the floor, curling up and closing her eyes. A few shaky breaths later and she drifted off into a fitful sleep, a single tear rolling down her cheek.


	14. Fourteenth Link

**Well... that last chapter of Naruto didn't really add much did it; maybe it's for the best I don't own it...**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

Things remained awkward between Naruto and Haku in the days following her first night in the apartment. True to his word Naruto did get Haku a futon to sleep on however it mostly remained unused. The girl continued her nightly 'assassinations' of Naruto which mostly just boiled down to her walking into his room silently, staring at him for a few minutes, Naruto growing agitated at her indecisiveness and eventually, him throwing her out. Sometimes she held an improvised weapon, other times she made one from ice when she thought he wasn't looking.

One time though, the night before Naruto's squad was supposed to return to the village, she simply walked into his room completely unarmed. Naruto could see her in the periphery of his vision, it was damn near impossible for him to sleep with someone else in the room and he had Nezumi to thank for that. She had this strange look on her face, her hands clenching and unclenched before finally, she just left. Not a word was spoken of it the next morning and things only seemed to become even frostier between them; they rarely spoke anymore save the occasional acknowledgement or half-hearted grunt.

It didn't help that Naruto's mood was souring tremendously as the week wound down. As he was looking after someone in the village through their parole he couldn't just up and abandon them without good reason. In essence, he was unable to take a mission that would pull him away from the village, or even have the potential to, for more than a day. This meant the high-level missions, the danger and fights that Naruto practically survived on, were wrenched away from him. It made him frustrated and more irritable than normal.

Even Anko seemed to sense the shift in his demeanour as she stayed away from him recently; that, or she was on a mission. Personally he believed the latter to be more likely; if Anko had a shred of tact in her body it must be hiding somewhere. Hell, he thought she would jump on his back even if he was swathed in the Kyuubi's Chakra and murdering civilians left and right because to her, it would be amusing. However in a way, her lack of presence only served to highlight the change in his routine; a routine that was carefully planned to stop him going on a rampage out of frustration and boredom.

So a new routine was established for the blonde sociopath; he would wake up, throw his clock across the room and descend into his morning workout. He would run to the Hokage as early as possible to make sure he got the most strenuous mission available that he _could_ accept and walk away disappointed when it was nothing even remotely challenging. He would complete it quickly, return and hope there was something better that had just come in only to find there wasn't; there never was. He usually had the evenings off then so Haku would follow him around as he did his shopping or afternoon training like some lost puppy. Then he'd come home, flop into bed and wait for Haku's inevitable visit that night.

It was enough to say that by the time Monday rolled around again, the frustration was evident in the way he trained with his squad. It had been nearly a month since he had seen them last and yet he treated them more like enemies than comrades of years. He flew through the training in a bloodlust, blacking in and out constantly due to the Kyuubi's influence overwhelming him. Saru suggested that Naruto's frustration was only allowing the Kyuubi more influence over his mind however the blonde had disregarded it, using the anger as fuel to suppress the beast inside him, wrenching away its Chakra and bending it to his will.

By the end his body was beaten, sore and aching, but he felt as though a house had been lifted off his back. Having an opportunity to vent away all that frustration that had built up recently was indescribable and Haku was even surprised to see a small smile on his face as he cooked dinner that night. However while Naruto went home satisfied, happy in the knowledge that these stress relieving sessions would become a weekly affair his squad were far more troubled.

"I've never seen him like that." Tako started up, breaking the silence that had descended over the small group as they sat around the training round. Far away the sun had begun to fall beyond the horizon, casting long shadows over the grassy clearing. "Well I mean I've seen him _like_ that…" The short stealth specialist elaborated with a frown "… because he's always kind of like that." He got swatted on the arm almost immediately by Nezumi, making him pout childishly. His comments about her meanness went completely ignored by the stoic beauty though as she looked forlornly at the ground.

"Naruto is… troubled." She finally intoned in her usual bland manner; however her squad had known her long enough to pick up the incredibly subtly nuances in both her body and tone that showed just how genuinely she was worried for the blonde.

"Ah, so you noticed to." Saru sighed, a small frown playing over his own features. It was true that Naruto was a naturally volatile person and considering his upbringing it was rather understandable. However he had never been that quick to anger, never been that quick to allow control over to the beast inside him. Hell, he'd had more control in his very first session of training this power than he had today. It was a good thing the squad had become at least somewhat used to him when he was in that state; which wasn't to say he wasn't difficult to deal with. Every 'training session' with Naruto when he accessed the fox's Chakra was a life-or-death fight, for all of them.

"Naruto is angry." Kuma summed up sadly; the man was always too emotional for his own good, especially as an ANBU. On a mission he was able to lock it all away and treat deadly fights like children's games, which he always won, but the rest of the time he was an empathetic sponge, soaking up the mood around him. He would likely be in a bit of a mope for a few days now unless something snapped him out of it.

"Well what are _we_ supposed to do?" Tako questioned, voicing the unspoken words on everybody's minds. They couldn't help Naruto with training, which he very clearly need to vent the frustrations weighing down on him, they just didn't have the time with how busy the Hokage was keeping them.

"Well, the boy quite clearly has some issues venting his frustration, perhaps we could convince the Hokage to allow him on higher-ranked missions?" Saru mused, more to himself than anything; after all he was the one they went to with these problems. "No, that would never work, Hiruzen has always favoured the systematic approach; if he does not believe Naruto ready then he will not accept. With his emotions in disarray as they are then that becomes even less likely; our testimony will only serve as damning evidence against him being given more freedom." He sighed, any attempts to help Naruto through that route would do more harm than good.

"Naruto just needs to fight!" Kuma called out, the serious atmosphere drawing him out of his moping briefly. "That's what Kuma does when he's upset!" The man called brightly; the squad could always at least trust him to be honest with his emotions.

"Well, I don't think it's quite that simple Kuma." Tako started hesitantly, not wanting to upset the emotional man any more than he already was; a moping Kuma was dangerous, a genuinely depressed Kuma was a destruction hazard. However the thought seemed to spark something in Nezumi and Saru alike.

"Ah… he needs…a rival." The woman said slowly, slowly punching her fist in an odd facsimile of a triumphant gesture, only at about a quarter of the speed.

"Yes, I was thinking the same thing Nezumi; perhaps someone his age, rivals are always good for training." Saru concluded with a self-satisfied smile, a round on nods going around the group until Tako pointed out the obvious.

"Well? How do we get him a rival?" The short man interjected suddenly, causing metaphorical rain-clouds to form over their heads.

"Ah well, we'll just have to work that out as we go." Saru asserted confidently, it didn't seem to be reflected on Tako or Nezumi's features though as the two shared a wary glance.

* * *

Naruto was in a rather mellow mood that next day, so much so that he actually forwent getting a mission at the crack of dawn like usual. He hadn't exactly had a lie-in either, but he was a little lighter on his training which he figured showed his good mood well enough. Haku had been in his room again last night but he could ignore that; although this new habit of hers of not bringing a weapon was becoming annoying. Next thing he knew she wouldn't be coming in at all; now that would be weird.

However as he walked down a rather quiet street somewhere in the clan district, on the way to a nearby training ground that he often used to refine his chain work, he couldn't shake the feeling his was being watched. There was no such thing as being over paranoid in the ANBU so he was rightfully anxious as he walked slowly, hands in pockets. It would just be minute flickers in the periphery of his vision or rustles in tree-tops that were just a little too large to be wildlife but it was enough to send all his senses on alert.

So when a random plate of still warm ribs, sauce and all, suddenly dropped into his hands, he was a little surprised. He simply looked at it, blinking incredulously; he hadn't even felt a presence nearby and suddenly he was holding a plate of barbecue? What the hell was going on? He was about to throw it away, obviously not going to eat unchecked food, when he heard huffing from behind him and footsteps that were much too loud to be anyone able to sneak food into his hands.

"Y-YOU! Stop right there food thief!" A decidedly agitated, but also rather flustered voice called out, prompting Naruto to turn with a brow half raised. What he saw was not quite what he had been expecting. It was a young boy, probably around his age but well over twice his girth; obviously an Akimichi. He had swirl-like marks on his pudgy cheeks, a scarf around his neck and a hat that caused his hair to spike out oddly on either side.

"Food thief?" Naruto drawled slowly, wondering if he was still in fact sleeping and this was some strange dream caused by out of date sashimi. He might have believed it too if they hadn't had dumplings last night.

"You stole my barbecue!" The boy called out again, apparently having caught his breath after whatever length of a run the real thief had put him through. Obviously the boy was the victim of some kind of joke, but Naruto wasn't really in the mood to play along.

"Shove off fatso." Naruto growled, tossing the plate to one side as he turned on a heel and walked off. The boy's eyes followed the plate of food to the ground almost in slow motion until the barbecue ribs splattered on the ground. There was a long pause as the boy simply stared before his eyes began to twitch.

"MY FOOD!" He shouted loudly, a healthy amount of red entering his cheeks as he suddenly charged at Naruto, hands forming seals quickly. "Nikudan Sensha!" Came his call as his body suddenly swelled up to ridiculous proportions, his head and limbs disappearing within the comical ball his body had become. That ball he had become proceeded to thunder down the quiet street like some massive, human bowling ball. It might have even been intimidating to some, like an unstoppable juggernaut of rolling flesh and muscle.

Naruto on the other hand? He let out a sigh of boredom, chains snapping out of his shoulders and down into the ground. The swiftly snaked back out on either side of the street, wrapping around two large support pillars for nearby buildings before shooting back across the street and linking together. The odd and hastily made construct took around three seconds to form in total, creating make-shift barrier across the street. When the Akimichi's body hit the bright glowing chains they snapped taut, the little bit of slack Naruto had allowed in them bringing the rolling meat tank to a stop just a foot from Naruto, who hadn't moved an inch.

Coincidentally, and entirely unplanned, the space the Akimichis' head should occupy ended up right in front of the blonde. It gave the boy inside the inflated flesh ball a good look as Naruto grinned ferally, waving his hand in a farewell motion. In the same instant that the Akimichi snapped out of his food rage and gulped at the sight, Naruto removed the slack from his chains, forcefully. The result? The make-shift slingshot he had effectively created with the Akmichi's body as the pebble was released and the boy was sent flailing through the air in the opposite direction, much to Naruto's amusement.

He'd probably be hearing about some property damage later; those support pillars hadn't exactly taken the impact very well. With a shrug the blonde simply turned on a heel and continued on his way.

* * *

"Well… that didn't quite go to plan." Tako stated lamely, scratching his heads as he, like the rest of the squad, watched the interaction from a nearby tree.

"No." Nezumi accurately summed up and agreed in the same breath, ever the minimalist.

"Hmm, perhaps we simply chose wrong?" Saru suggested, mulling over what the might have gotten wrong. They had chosen someone Naruto's age but that seemed right, and a clan child seemed correct as they would be the only one's possibly powerful enough. No, no, the two were just incompatible is all.

"Fat boy became even fatter!" Kuma marvelled in a childishly awed tone, casing all of them to look around at him. "What did Kuma say?" The large man asked innocently.

* * *

Naruto still felt the eyes on him, enough that he broke into a quick jog as he moved through the streets that were slowly filling up with people going about their morning business. It made the blonde frown as he quickly diverted into a quieter alleyway; more people meant finding his pursuers harder. Instead of his normal route he took a detour through the streets around the Inuzuka clan grounds. However as he checked over his shoulder to catch any sight of his stalker, a bucket was suddenly emptied over his head.

His eyes twitched in irritation but when he looked up he saw nothing but an old woman with wrinkles so deep they seemed to merge into the slits of her cataract-filled eyes. She didn't even seem to see him down there, covered in whatever she had poured over him; it certainly wasn't water considering the pungent aroma; she was lucky it wasn't that though otherwise she's be emptied of her blood instead. As it was Naruto suppressed his anger and carried on, nose turned up at the sudden smell he was giving off. He missed as the old woman's visage shimmered, transforming into that of a diminutive, octopus-styled ANBU mask.

Apparently he wasn't the only one offended by the pungent smell he was emanating as he passed a young boy going in the opposite direction, once again around his age. However this one had the characteristics of an Inuzuka, unsurprising for where Naruto was walking. However it was the small white dog riding around in the front of his jacket that really seemed to take offence, barking loudly and obnoxiously in Naruto's direction as the boy looked down quizzically.

"What's wrong Akamaru?" The boy started, only to cringe as the smell hit him at the same time; however the cringe seemed to transform into a scowl as he looked over at Naruto, body language quickly becoming aggressive and almost… territorial. "What the hell are you looking at shrimp?" The boy growled, only to get and equally aggressive look right back as Naruto paused mid-step, sending a murderous glare the brown-haired boy's way.

"The hell you call me mutt?" Naruto snarled; first the fat kid and now this? Was there just something inherently wrong with people in his age group?

"You heard me shorty!" The Inuzuka stated boldly, taking a step forward despite the dangerous vibes Naruto was sending off; the stubbornness of an Inuzuka is not to be underestimated. Naruto's eye twitched once before a dangerous grin cut across his features. He had been asking for some stress relief, hadn't he?

"Call me short… One. More. Time." Naruto stated coldly, a cruel grin on his lips as he took a step forward. For once the Inuzuka seemed to realise what was going on, showing the first sign of faltering, however Akamaru growling in his jacket seemed to spur him back on.

"What are you going to do shor-" Except he never got to finish the sentence because suddenly there were chains around both his legs. He only had time to yelp in an amusingly close rendition to a surprised puppy, before he was thrown clear across the street, impacting solidly into the wall of the Inuzuka compound and causing cracks to spider-web out from his impact zone.

Naruto simply grinned as he walked away, dusting his hands off contentedly; he didn't think he had killed the kid after all… although they may be scraping him off the wall. Maybe this would incense some older, actually strong Inzuka into taking revenge.

That could be fun.

* * *

"Okay, now I was sure that one would work." Tako lamented with a frown, wincing as he witnessed the Inuzuka boy, Kiba, being pried off the clan wall by his laughing mother. He was making sure to stay extra still while they hung around to see if the kid was okay. He had peeped on Tsume Inuzuka once before, that particular incident was engraved rather thoroughly into his memory and he would no sooner incense The Inzuka clan head than he would burn his own magazine stash. She was a vicious and rather irritable woman with a mean streak a mile wide, although she apparently found it hilarious that Kiba had challenged the Kusari no Naruto, quite possibly the only person in the village credited with a more vicious streak than even her.

"Perhaps getting them simply angry at Naruto is going about it wrong?" Saru suggested as the squad moved off in pursuit of the blonde again; the boy was now making fair tracks towards that training field.

"People are angry at Naruto all the time!" Kuma added brightly, as if he were actually commenting on one of Naruto's positive traits; it didn't even earn him odd looks anymore, it was just… Kuma.

"Maybe we should find somebody already looking for a rival?" Tako threw out suddenly, the idea making all of them but Kuma look up thoughtfully as they considered it. Kuma didn't consider himself all that thoughtful; fistful, maybe… or even elbowful, but not thoughtful.

"But… who?" Nezumi interjected, bringing them right back down to earth again, however they were all quickly distracted by a loud cry that seemed vaguely familiar but somewhat off.

"You! You bear the hip attitude of Gai-Sensei's eternal rival Hatake Kakashi!"

All four members of the squad, even Kuma, blinked at that familiar yet not-quite-right voice. They spirited themselves over a nearby rooftop and caught a glimpse of somebody that could only be described as a miniaturized clone of one Maito Gai. All of them shuddered at both the sight, and the thoughts that said sight conjured up.

"Did Gai actually manage to… procreate?" Tako asked incredulously as he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from the disturbingly spandex-clad sight. Below them Naruto seemed much the same, apparently at a loss for words as he stared silently at the young teen pointing at him exuberantly.

"You are strong! I should like to test my flames of youth against your cool hipness just like Gai-sensei!" The boy once again exclaimed with more passion than seemed healthy for a boy of his… stylistic choices.

"I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it for myself." Saru muttered lamely, blinking and rubbing at his mask as if he could make the sight disappear if he believed hard enough. Naruto still seemed somewhat shell-shocked by the confrontation, unable to make heads nor tails of what he was seeing.

"My name is Rock Lee! What is the name of my hip opponent today?" The named Lee called out, giving a blinding smile that had even Kuma take a step back; his teeth literally appeared to be glinting in the light as he stuck his thumb up.

"I feel… sick." Nezumi intoned dryly, her hand unconsciously twitching towards the sword on her back as her instincts commanded her to rid Konoha of the growing infestation of green spandex before her. However apparently that was ample time for Naruto to finally get over his surprise.

"Go away." He finally managed to growl out; it lacked his usual venom though, sounding too confused to really be spiteful.

"Ah, then you really do possess Kakashi's hip attitude; I should have expected nothing less! Now come, show me your flames of youth." Lee called back fearlessly… or perhaps just ignorantly; he didn't seem like the smartest cookie in the tin. The ANBU squad watching from the shadows began to feel a bit of worry for the poor boy, although apparently it was unfounded. Chains but from the ground around his feet in a similar manoeuvre to the one Naruto had pulled on Kiba, however the bowl-cut boy deftly leapt over them, flipping back onto his hands.

"I said get lost." Naruto tried again, this time the anger in his voice far more evident, for all the good it did as the threat seemingly bounced off Lee's ears.

"Ah then that shall be the wager of our challenge my hip friend! If you win I shall 'get lost' and if I am unable to get suitably lost I shall 'get lost' while walking on my hands, and if I am unable to so that I shall blindfold myself and walk on my hands to 'get lost." Lee exclaimed brightly, suddenly settling back into a recognisable Taijutsu stance, or at least recognisable to the ANBU who personally knew who had made it famous.

"What are you talking about? What challenge?" Naruto asked, confusion once again creeping back into his tone; it didn't last long before his eyes widened slightly.

"Konoha Senpuu!" The vividly coloured boy yelled as he shot forward at mildly impressive speeds; he certainly would have given Haku a run for her money before she began to use her ice-mirrors technique. However the solid kick was blocked firmly by a thick wall of chains that barely even budged.

"I said…" Naruto growled out, his eyes narrowed dangerously by this point as chains snaked up Lee's leg from the point of contact between the two forces "Get. Lost!" The chain suddenly went taut, snapping Lee's leg straight and catching him mid-air. Before his strangely round eyes could widen further the chain whipped back, flinging the spandex-clad youth along with it. Naruto didn't even turn to looked where he landed, as long as he was away from the blonde it was good enough for him.

* * *

"Well damn, he seemed promising too." Tako commented from his hiding place, watching with a frown as Naruto stalked off, his mood only worsening if anything. Kuma just laughed happily, capping his hands together as he watched Lee fly off down the street.

"Heh, his eyebrows looked like caterpillars." The comment, thankfully, went ignored by the others.

"Perhaps we shuld get him back; he seemed rather eager for a rival and if he's anything like Gai then-" Suddenly there was a naked blade pressed very close to Tako's neck, making him turn cautiously towards Nezumi.

"No." There was a dark look on her face that was visible even despite her mask, it seemed to emanate off of her like a thick, stifling miasma.

"But Nezumi-chan, if he's been trained by Gai then you know-" However the blade was only pressed closer, nearly drawing blood as Tako shivered slightly at the sheer murderous aura surrounding his Kunoichi teammate.

"No." She intoned again, her voice not changing a bit but her intent a whole lot clearer.

"Ah… okay then Nezumi-chan, you can lower the blade now." Tako conceded nervously, only to be shushed suddenly as Saru brought their attention to what was going on with Naruto.

* * *

"Now what do you want?" The blonde growled as he stared down the latest person to stand in his way this morning. Really, did these people just not see the jounin flak jacket he was wearing or were they purposefully ignoring it?

"You attacked my teammate, he was an irritation but it still an offense against our team and that includes me." The boy stated coldly, his pale eyes boring into Naruto as he stood stoically in the path.

"You don't know what you're getting into white-eyes, back off while you have the chance." Naruto shot back, his tone equally frosty as he began to move forwards; if the boy continued to be in the way then so be it. At least Naruto had given a warning, that was more than he could say for most confrontations he had with people. However the long brown haired boy didn't seem to want to back down, in fact he only grew more irritated.

"First you insult out team, and then you insult the Hyuuga?" He asked, eyes narrowed as the followed the blonde's approach. Admittedly, if it weren't for the dangerous air about the blonde he wouldn't have looked all that intimidating.

"Don't take it personally." Naruto quipped with a vicious smirk; the boy didn't seem to take the hint so he could already tell what was coming. "I tend to offend everybody; don't feel too special." He grinned as the boy seemed taken aback by the blunt statement.

"You do realise I cannot let such an insult against the Hyuuga slide?" The boy retorted in a cold tone, only widening Naruto's smirk.

"You do realise if you try to attack me I'm going to break your precious fingers?" Naruto shot right back, once again catching the boy off guard with the crass and obvious threat. All this time Naruto had continued to walk forward, as if daring Neji to stand in his way and yet the boy did not move. Were the people in his age group just needless stubborn, or was this some twisted form of bravery? Chains began sliding out of Naruto's body, rattling menacingly as apparently for the first time the boy seemed to notice Naruto's flak jacket.

"You are a jounin?" He half-asked, half-stated incredulously, however in that Hyuuga manner that only meant the tone of his voice changed slightly. Compared to Nezumi though it was like his emotions were on full display.

"Just noticing? It's not the only thing you missed." Naruto returned, however before the boy could even ask what he meant the ground beneath his suddenly erupted into a deluge of brightly glowing gold. Before he knew what had happened the Hyuuga's entire lower body was practically encased in the Chakra constructs and he was suspended upside down, swaying slowly as Naruto walked closer. "Hyuuga, so used to looking down but unable to see what's under their feet until it comes up to bite them." Naruto grinned as the Hyuuga glared.

"Remember that the next time you think of attacking somebody above you Hyuuga." Naruto growled, bringing them to eye level with one another despite the boy being suspended.

"My name is Neji, not 'Hyuuga'." The boy shot back defiantly, only making Naruto's grin more feral.

"Tell someone that cares." And with that the chains around Neji's body suddenly unraveled, dropping him unceremoniously to the floor in a rather undignified heap. Naruto uncaringly walked on; if Neji attacked him from behind it would be the boy's issue how damaged he became, not his. He wondered if there was some cosmic force out to get him today, throwing all these people at him. His lip twitched slightly as he moved on; none of this had helped to abate his irritation; if anything he only felt more frustrated.

* * *

"Wow, we didn't even have to do anything for that one." Tako stated in mild surprise; the confrontation with the Hyuuga had certainly come out of left field. They were just glad Naruto hadn't done anything too extreme; the clan were a bad enemy to have within the village. He could only imagine the backlash that would come if Naruto were to have done that to either of the clan head's daughters.

"Quite; it seems Naruto is more than adept at drawing his own opponents without our intervention." Saru agreed, nodding slowly with his hand on his chin; they still hadn't exactly sorted out the problem yet. While all of Naruto's opponents seemed charged enough to challenge him, none of them really stuck as 'rivals'; except Lee, but then Nezumi was threatening bodily harm if they tried to bring him and Naruto together again. She would not allow her student to be… sullied in that way.

"Naruto being angry makes strangers angry." Kuma piped up with a rare moment of actual clarity to the situation, causing Saru to nod thoughtfully.

"You're right Kuma; rivals are bred through a shared ideal of becoming stronger; usually between people who are at least close to begin with. We may have been going about this wrong by pitting him against strangers." He mused, looking down at the blonde as he continued on to the training ground.

"But wasn't the problem in the first place that he doesn't know people his own age?" Tako interjected, making all of them frown. In essence Naruto was feeling frustrated because of his social isolation; however to ease it he would have to become less socially isolated. It wasn't as if any of them were paragons of a healthy social circle when their list of friends essentially boiled down to the four of them plus Naruto, and the latter was questionable.

"Well, does anybody else have suggestions?" Saru finally asked, hoping to get a different perspective. Nezumi's eyes widened a little as she quietly raised her hand, only to go unnoticed as Kuma suddenly raised his own, only more boisterously.

"Ooh, Ooh, Kuma could become Naruto's rival!" The large man offered, only to get stared at by his teammates.

"Kuma, the problem is that we don't have the time to do that." Saru placated softly, causing the large man to look down, his moping mood returning quickly.

"Well, maybe the kid just needs a distraction?" Tako offered up, only for his features and body language to become perverse a moment later. "I'm sure I could rustle up some beauties that could keep him company for a while; there's more than one way to… ease stress you-" The short infiltrations specialist yelped suddenly as a shuriken buried itself in his foot. He looked over only to see Nezumi glaring at him; he quickly, and wisely, glanced away to avoid drawing her ire even more.

"Ah well, as… helpful as that sounds Tako…" Saru started unconvincingly "…I think a different approach would be better." Nezumi raised her hand again, however her naturally quiet and unassuming disposition served against her and her insistence went unnoticed. "Maybe we should think on this more tomorrow; we should get some rest all the same, more missions in the morning and all." Saru concluded, getting a round of nods from the male Shinobi on the team before they all flickered away.

Nezumi pouted, her hand lowering slowly as she glowered at the empty tree branch. Maybe she should have said something instead?

* * *

Naruto panted heavily, laying back on the cool, damp grass with a mixture of dew and sweat covering his body and soaking his clothes. He had pushed himself a little harder than usual today, each punch or heavy impact through his chain serving to funnel just a fraction of his anger out of him. He just wanted things back the way they were, when things were simple and he had his team. No responsibilities, no need to have to think about everything, no more flashbacks that had been getting worse as of late.

"Nezumi." Naruto grunted in acknowledgment as he felt his pseudo-sensei's presence behind him. Sure enough when he flopped himself into a sitting position and turned she was there, sitting against a tree and staring at him curiously. Oddly her mask was absent for once, letting him see her dark teal eyes and strangely zig-zagging eyebrows.

"You are… getting better… at that." She said slowly in that manner that almost made Naruto's lips quirk up at the edges; just hearing Nezumi speak like she always did reminded him of that time. It was familiar and comforting; Kami helped anyone who tried to take that away from him. He blinked at the thought, wondering where it came from. "You seem… troubled." She intoned, quieter this time, but with more intent.

"I'm fine." Naruto grunted unconvincingly; it was so hard to lie to Nezumi because she herself was so very honest in everything she did, even if she was slow to do it.

"You are… troubled." Nezumi stated this time, not leaving much room for argument and causing Naruto to scowl; he always felt so transparent in front of his teammates.

"So what? It doesn't matter does it?" He shot back defensively; talking about his 'feelings' never was a strong suit of his.

"It matters… to me. It matters… to us." Nezumi insisted quietly, making Naruto's façade falter a little.

"Am I going soft?" Naruto finally asked, shuffling around so he was actually facing his Kunoichi teammate. "I feel like outside of ANBU, I'm losing my edge; I'm losing who I am." Naruto explained, wondering internally why this suddenly felt so easy to talk about; maybe it was because of his frustrations struggling to get out.

"You cannot… lose, who you… are." Nezumi answered, surprising Naruto with how quickly she did so; her voice also seemed rather urgent. "It may change… but you… are you." She concluded resolutely, and for some reason the utterly confident words actually did strike a chord with the blonde. He wondered how she could say something like that and maintain a straight face, but it only added power behind her words.

"But, I just feel so… useless right now, with my stupid, repetitive, unchallenging missions. I don't want to change! Even today all these stupid brats came up and challenged me…" Nezumi blushed faintly, her eyes glancing away for a moment, but Naruto missed it "…all I did was rough them up a little; I didn't even maim any of them! I was never like that when I was in ANBU, when I was with you guys!" He vented angrily.

"You miss… ANBU?" Nezumi questioned; most left ANBU with a feeling of relief. It wasn't exactly a nice profession, even among Shinobi.

"Of course I do!" Naruto shot right back without hesitation, causing Nezumi to smile faintly. "And I'm just so damn frustrated all the time!" He continued, his hands clenching and unclenching.

"You need… an outlet." Nezumi offered somewhat helpfully. "I once… felt the same. In ANBU… I felt… stagnant. I felt like… my abilities… would not increase. I felt… like an outsider… because of the way… I am." She looked down, eyes narrowing ever so slightly; even among ANBU she had been considered a freak. She was unnaturally silent and methodical almost to the point of insanity in the eyes of others.

"What changed?" Naruto asked hesitantly, having calmed down slightly thanks to Nezumi's soft, dulcet tones.

"You." The woman replied succinctly, catching he blonde off-guard. "Teaching… you. It helped me… put my skills… in perspective. It helped me… grow and…" She trailed off for a moment, a slightly more prominent blush on her cheeks "…it made me feel less… alone." She concluded softly, the blush unwilling to disappear apparently. He had her teammates of course, but they were very professional with her before the introduction of Naruto to the team; he served as an ice-breaker of sorts, really allowing the group to bond.

"Teaching?" Naruto questioned, tasting the word; he couldn't imagine himself as a teacher, having to put up with people below him all this time. However that was exactly what his squad mates had done and they were the only people he ever truly respected. He frowned as Nezumi picked herself up, once again donning her mask.

"I hope… I helped." She offered before flickering away, no doubt to rest up before her next mission. Naruto sat there for a while longer, just mulling things over; he just knew his sleep would be fitful tonight.


	15. Fifteenth Link

**I leave for three weeks and look what Kishi goes and does! Goddammit Sasuke!**

* * *

**Kusari no Naruto**

* * *

_Sweaty, heaving flesh rose and fell with the beat of two synchronised hearts. Breaths only came in rough pants, periodically interrupted by shuddering spasms as pleasure surged through Naruto's very being. The feeling was indescribable, like being filled with pure and unadulterated warmth. He could almost feel the affection from his partner, bleeding through their intimate contact and he continued to steadily gyrate his hips in a continually increasing tempo. Wiping away a few long, damp strands of hair from his face he couldn't help the radiant smile that bloomed on his face as violet eyes met shining blue._

_With greater energy they moved, in an ever-faster tempo that only they could hear, locked in each other's gaze like that. He could see himself reflected back in those loving, deep pools; like intense mirrors that only served to reflect back his own feelings of love in an out of control spiral. The pace picked up dramatically as both partners reached some unseen signal, working towards that elusive climax just out of reach. His fingers curled into the soft material of the bed sheets, gripping them in a vice-like hold as, like a steel coil, something began to tighten in his stomach._

_His bucking grew wilder as a hand rose up and began to caress his skin, unashamed of where it touched and never once rebuked. Both were reaching a fervent crescendo now, to the point where Naruto had to screw his eyes closed in a feeble attempt to prolong the perfect, unobtainable moment. Finally, as a hand cupped his breast and squeezed ever so lightly, a trigger was flipped and a radiant warmth burst from his body, filling him up to the brim as his very nerves were set alight._

_"Mina-kuuuun!" His own voice betrayed him as the hoarse scream burst from his lips, unintelligible in its volume as he filled the space up in his passionate cries. His body froze there, back arched in an unintentionally alluring pose for a good few seconds as his muscles tried to return to some semblance of working order. When they finally did he slumped back forward, damp hair falling defiantly about his face as he just panted, eyes half-lidded in the aftermath of the intense feeling. However he wasn't alone, below him, smiling that ever-present smile that spoke of comfort and security, was Minato._

_"I love you Kushi-chan." He managed, his own voice sounding somewhat strained from their throes of passion not even a minute ago. It was enough though; a content grin passed over Naruto's features as he slumped to the side, falling in a messy heap next to the blond. However that familiar warmth between his legs was still there; a reminder, a promise. It was a bit stickier than he was used to though; the thought only made the grin wider._

_"I love you too Mina-kun."_

* * *

Naruto sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide and crazed as his chest rose and fell rapidly. In his haste he managed to get tangled in the bed sheets he only seemed to be half-under. It caused him to awkwardly fall out of bed, landing painfully on his side and eliciting a stifled grunt. But the pain snapped him out of it somewhat, allowing him to see that he was indeed in his own room; his room, not Kushina's. At that thought his head snapped around to the bed so fast he might have given himself whiplash, his breathing still somewhat erratic. However a sigh blew over his lips when he saw it was empty, it was just him, nobody else.

He realised he was quite cold now on the floor; the night air was blowing in through the window and it wasn't being kind to his sweat-soaked, clammy skin. However he couldn't find it in him to move for the moment; just shifting lack-lusterly into a vaguely sitting-esque position and laying his face in his hands. His breathing finally slowed, although there was little he could do about his frantic heartbeat for the moment.

This had been all too common occurrence these past few weeks; the memories coming to him in his dreams, looking and feeling more real than ever. Some nights he would wake up, confused and disoriented and wondering where he was, before finally realising that he was not in fact Kushina Uzumaki, but Naruto. He was losing himself; it was slipping away slowly but surely and by the end he wasn't sure exactly who would be left standing in his place. If this kept up then it certainly would not be him.

It was the inevitability that got to him though, as well as how powerless he felt. This was not an enemy he could just defeat; no clever tactics or brute force could save him because the enemy was not something he could touch or feel. The enemy was his own mind; what was he supposed to do against that? His teammates had done all they could and it had only been a preventative measure. He looked back up, groaning as he staggered to his feet wearily and making his way over to the bathroom. He didn't even care to notice that Haku was peeking up at him from her futon, a strange, indecipherable look on her delicate features.

The dreams were nothing new to Naruto now; they grew more commonplace with each night. However, as he placed a hand just below his stomach, still feeling that phantom warmth and sight wetness that wasn't actually there, he grew slightly pale. That had never happened before; never. He of course knew what sex was; he had been trained in ANBU after all where it was a weapon just as good as any kunai. However what he just experienced was sex from the wrong perspective.

Oh he might have been on top, his mother seemed to be rather dominant like that, which was yet another thought that sickened him to know. However that feeling of being filled up, of something entering him so intimately; it was so fundamentally wrong that the thought of it made bile rise in his throat. It didn't help that when he turned the bathroom lights on it was like the sun itself was boring into his retinas.

However when his eyes adjusted he caught sight of his own face in the mirror; except that in that split second it wasn't his face, it was _his_. Minato's; the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes; the only saving grace were the jagged and rough whisker-like marks on his cheeks. However even they didn't help, because when he saw his own face all he could really see was Minato writhing beneath him, that damnable look of love and affection in his eyes; emotions that had never been in Naruto's own. He could only see his sweaty body, framed by a damp red veil of hair.

This time Naruto actually was sick, heaving loudly into the sink until everything in his stomach was evacuated. He was forced to clutch at the porcelain lip, the acrid scent of his own vomit pervading his senses until he was only retching, his stomach having nothing more to give. When he looked back up again his skin was pallid, his cheeks seemed more sunken and there were a few flecks of bile around his lips. But that was good; the less he looked like that bastard the better. However, glancing up from that haggard position he caught sight of something very different; a single thick strand of red hair peeking out from amongst its blond neighbours.

A growl arose in his throat as he saw the offending crimson hair; it wasn't the first and was sure it wouldn't be the last. He knew better than to try and rip it out; when he did two more simply replaced it the next day. As if it wasn't bad enough he was being transformed in his own mind, he couldn't even keep a grasp on his own body. His low growl became a grunt of frustration as his hand came up on instinct, curling into a fist and smashing into the mirror in the same moment. The sharp pain of the reflective shards digging into his skin served to wake him up somewhat which was both a blessing and a curse.

"Naruto-san?" Haku's soft voice spoke up from behind him, causing Naruto to wipe at the bile on his chin and try and assume some meagre semblance of his usual scowl on instinct as he turned.

"What?" He growled out, his voice noticeably unsteady. Haku was standing at the doorway of the bathroom, looking in apprehensively; but there was curiosity there too. The blond wanted to look away; this was him vulnerable, he couldn't be allowed to be seen this way. Chains began to snake from his skin, their rattling and clinking a comfort in the still, otherwise silent night. The sight of them made Haku flinch reflexively but she stood firm, stepping further into the light of the small room.

"You had another nightmare." She stated slowly, not a hint of a question in her tone.

"I don't have nightmares." The blonde shot back defensively, his scowl becoming more real and less put on as he reset his posture into something more aggressive. However, he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince with his feeble words; her, or himself. Even now his mind kept throwing images at him, sex from a female perspective, the wrongness he had felt at it, Minato's body beneath his own…

"Are you-" Haku started, snapping Naruto from his introspection and disgust.

"I _don't_ have nightmares!" He asserted more vehemently this time, taking a step forward as the chains clicked menacingly behind him. He wasn't even sure how many there were; they were simply there; five, twenty, enough to fill the entire room, it barely mattered. However as he stood there, panting slightly from his own outburst, he couldn't help but notice that Haku was only wearing a thin kimono-esque top that only fell to her mid-thigh. None of her wrappings or bindings were in place and it was rather obvious, for once, as to her gender.

"You…" Naruto started, taking another step forward as Haku took the appropriate step back, almost like a prey might at seeing a predator begin its advance. "You're a girl." He continued, the memories of Minato beneath him still vivid in his mind. They were wrong; they were wrong for him, he was a boy, not a girl. "You're a girl." He stated again, this time with more confidence as his face twisted into another scowl. At this point Haku was extremely wary of the slightly crazed look dancing in Naruto's usually cool, dismissive eyes.

"You're a girl." Naruto nodded this time, stalking forward as his chains became more active; however he didn't seem to be talking to anyone other than himself. Then, suddenly and with surprising ferocity, a chain lashed out. Its razor edge flashed through the air and dragged a long, thin tear up the front of Haku's Kimono. The tie was loosened and immediately fell apart, causing Haku to instinctively draw it back together with her hands, her eyes becoming questioning and frightful.

"Naruto-san, what-" But she was cut off as this time the blunt flat of one of the chains' blade slammed into her stomach, throwing her back across the room to topple haphazardly over the couch. By the time she had gathered her bearings though Naruto was already there. His foot slammed down on her stomach, pinning her to the floor as more chains moved to snake around her wrists. The there was nothing but golden blurs as chain after chain flew across her vision. They tore and ripped at her kimono until there was nothing but tatters and ragged pieces of fabric strewn about the floor, laying her pale flesh bare.

Through it all Naruto watched on with a cold, unnerving impassivity, a spark of almost desperate ferocity dancing in his searching, probing eyes. However when it was over, when Haku's body was completely stripped of clothing and was left shivering on the floor, he paused. It was a moment of utter silence as everything Haku had to offer was laid in front of him. A few cuts littered her form from where his chains had sliced slightly too deep but the small trickles of crimson only served to heighten the pale, porcelain skin.

He gulped, suddenly uncertain as he watched the motion of Haku's chest rising and falling. He followed a droplet of blood as it trickled down the curve of her left breast to fall silently to the floor. The chains unwound from her wrists but Haku did not move, her face was turned away, eyes screwed shut as she simply lay there. Even when Naruto took a step back she did not move, despite his foot no longer pinning her to the floor.

The final straw though was when Naruto saw a single solitary tear percolate at the very edge of her eye, like a tiny shard of crystal. It fell as she opened her eyes, dripping into the carpet amongst its crimson counterparts. Those chocolate orbs shuddered as the girl came to the realisation nothing else was happening, slowly and uncertainly turning to him. But they didn't just look at him, they captured him, ensnared him, drew him in until he was frozen.

"Did… did you find what you were searching for?" She asked, her voice muted and dulled as she still failed to move save for the small shivers that danced over her naked form. Naruto couldn't take it then, he suddenly turned and fled, smashing right through the window of the room and out in to the night, uncaring for the shards that dug into his skin, or the fact he was dressed in nothing more than his ANBU trousers. All the while Haku simply watched him leave, never once making to pick herself up off the floor.

* * *

Loud cracks echoed through the forest later than they had any right to be. Shinobi were known for their strange habits and stranger sleeping cycles but it was generally accepted that at three O'clock in the morning, most were asleep or on missions. It was rare then for a training ground to be occupied so early in the morning, even for the most stalwart of early-risers. However Naruto couldn't have cared less about the time, or the fact that his only source of light was the weak crescent moon. He didn't even care that it was frightfully cold and the only thing between his body and the elements were a thin pair of trousers.

However the sharp chill of the dewy ground under his soles only served to heighten everything about him. Every loud crack as his chain-covered fist once again bit into the tree he was beating on, every droplet of sweat that escaped his brow as he swung aimlessly again, every shard of bark that splintered off from the trunk with his tremendously powerful punches. Already there lay five trees that he had crushed right through with his Chakra-covered fists. With a final solid hit that splintered right through the remaining defence the tree could offer, it too fell to the ground with a deafening crash.

The blond stood there a moment, chest rising and falling steadily as his chain-covered fists swayed back and forth. His eyes were glazed over and misty from losing himself in the repetitive exercise but instantly cleared as his ears twitched tellingly.

"I didn't know you were back in the village." He suddenly spoke up, as if to the darkened training ground itself. However as he turned, a solitary figure stepped out from the lengthy shadows they had been seamlessly blending with until then. "I'm getting better at noticing when you're there you know." Nezumi simply tilted her head slightly, the shadows causing her mask to look stranger and more menacing than it usually did; but then, that was how the ANBU masks were designed. Naruto allowed his breathing to settle in that moment of silence, retracting the chains from around his fist.

It was just in time too as suddenly Nezumi threw a long Ninjato across the clearing, only to be deftly caught in his hands. That was the only warning he was given before the taller ANBU flashed across the space between them in an uninterrupted streak of silver. Then it was the dance of sparks and steel and pain as the woman flitted about, in and out, slashing and retreating in a beautiful, if not deadly display of swordsmanship. It was all Naruto could do to keep up; he was used to his teammates lacking restraint in their spars with him but tonight Nezumi was positively vicious.

The nicks and cuts she usually left him with by the end of sessions became slices and gashes. However the pain did one thing, it was certainly waking him up. His reflexes only grew faster as he settled into the familiar routine of the stances and their motions. The repetitive task of defending, counterattacking and feinting removed all else from his mind. He knew better than to involve his chains though; Nezumi was not forgiving to him when he 'disrupted' a proper kenjutsu fight with such weapons, not that they did him much good.

So instead, for the next few minutes he was battered around the clearing, his mind on nothing more than the sword in his hand and the sword that was trying to make his life a lot shorter. It only ended when he fell for one of her feints, ending up with his base swept out from under him and a sword placed unflinchingly at his throat. After a good few tense seconds he nodded the bare amount that he could and the blade was withdrawn. He watched as she flawlessly sheathed it without even having to wipe the blood off; Nezumi's strikes never left blood on her blade.

"I'm… disappointed." She intoned quietly, he voice not exactly coinciding with her words as they sounded just as monotone as usual. However Naruto instantly got the feeling she was not talking about his blade-work. After all simply surviving a spar with Nezumi was an indication of at least a competent Kenjutsu user. Naruto simply grunted, falling back to sit on the ground with his hands supporting him from behind.

"I suppose you've been stalking me again then." He growled without venom; it wasn't exactly an uncommon thing with Nezumi; he'd never understand how she thought. However in the instance he uttered the word a thin streak of red appeared on his shoulder. It hadn't even looked like Nezumi had moved, never mind drawn her sword. It was an Iaijutsu draw that would have made grown Samurai weep at their own inadequacy.

"Observing." She corrected, but it was half-hearted; the cut wasn't anywhere important so Naruto knew she wasn't completely serious; no, then she would have cut his face. "We are… Shinobi." She explained, as if that accounted for her actions; in a way it did, but it was still strange. However Naruto couldn't find it in him to be annoyed by it; in fact he could barely bring himself to look at Nezumi. Despite her mask obscuring her face he could still feel her gaze penetrating him far deeper than any blade she carried.

"I'm… disappointed." She repeated, slowly reclining to the ground and crossing her legs so that she could stare at Naruto even more intently; once again though her voice didn't even waver. Naruto just growled and stared at the ground, as though the blade of grass he was barely looking at was the most fascinating piece of greenery in the world.

"What do you want me to say? That I regret it?" He snorted, idly digging a finger through the moist ground to stop himself outwardly fidgeting. Why was it that of all people it was the quiet, unassuming, mostly unnoticeable sword-woman that could get to him the most. She didn't even have to say a word and she could have him acting like some little kid that had done a wrong and was to be punished for it. She stayed quiet though, making the blond squirm under that impassive gaze.

"What then? Do you want an apology?!" He growled out; Uzumaki Naruto did not _do_ apologies. If somebody wanted that vindication they would have to rip it out of him, and even then it was unlikely. What did he have to be sorry for? That Haku wasn't fast enough to stop him if she really didn't want it? That because he had done something after a lapse in self-control Nezumi was 'dissapointed' in him? There was nothing to apologize for, but still Nezumi remained silent.

"What do you know huh?!" He shot back, suddenly feeling highly aggressive and indignant that Nezumi was doing this to him; what right did she have? "You don't know what it's like! To have your identity be so unknown that sometimes you wake up and wonder why your hair isn't red! Or why your chest doesn't feel as heavy as it should!" What right did anybody have to judge him of all people; how could they possibly understand? But once again, there was no response from the Kunoichi, she just continued to look at him.

"So I lapsed in control? So what? Who even cares?!" Naruto continued to vent; however it was like arguing with a brick wall for all the response he got. "I just… I'm just… I…" He trailed off, finally losing steam, his gaze dropping back to the ground. "I'm losing myself." He finally muttered, barely audible but if the slight tilt of Nezumi's head indicated anything, she heard.

"I'm… disappointed." She repeated for a third time, making Naruto flinch as she suddenly grapsed his wrist. However when instead of whatever conceived punishment or scolding Naruto had conjured up in his mind, she brought his hand and placed it on something soft, he blinked in confusion. He looked up only to see that Nezumi had at some point inexplicably removed both her chest guard, her black undershirt and her mesh vest and had placed his hand directly on her bare breast.

"I'm disappointed… that you did not come to me." She finally concluded in that same monotonous drawl as usual. However Naruto wasn't looking at her chest, or his hand; because at some point she had also removed her mask and was staring at him with an indecipherable expression. Her half-lidded eyes peered into his own softly, her strangely zig-zagging eyebrows creased into a small frown braver men might have called cute; not in her presence of course.

There was silence between them for a moment as Nezumi continued to press his palm against her warm, bare flesh. Beneath it Naruto could actually feel her steady, rhythmic heartbeat; it was considerably slower than his own at that moment. She pressed a little harder and his hand sank ever so slightly into the supple flesh, causing him the gulp.

_'Soft.'_ Was all that entered his mind at that moment, at least until Nezumi finally let go, breaking the spell over him as she calmly replaced her removed clothing. A small part of Naruto was actually surprised to find he was disappointed. She stood up then and Naruto felt immediately compelled to follow her, getting to his feet swiftly just as she was about to replace her mask, before apparently thinking better of it.

"What you see… are memories. They can never be… you… because they are not… yours." She finally managed to get out, slowly rotating the mask in her hands. "Do not focus… on what is _not_ you. Think about… what _is_… you." She nodded to herself, apparently satisfied with her words before doing something Naruto had rarely ever seen her do; she smiled. It was barely there, a mere upturn of her lips, but on Nezumi, it might as well have been a blinding grin. Then, she was gone, vanishing without so much as a whisper back into the shadows.

Naruto frowned, staying there for a few moments as his mind whirled with thoughts; suddenly he had a lot to think about. However one thing did come of the conversation that he knew at that moment; he realised just how freezing cold he was without a shirt.

* * *

Haku walked out of the bathroom with a small sigh; she had taken a long shower and her cuts were now cleaned and properly bandaged. She had also gone to the trouble of finding another Kimono top to wear; her previous one was essentially unsalvageable. She didn't know where Naruto had gone or for how long he would stay there, or even if he would be coming back at all. She was surprised then to find him in the living room, lying on the couch. He said nothing, making no sign that he had even noticed her enter; he just stared up at the ceiling unblinkingly.

In return she did nothing to announce herself, quietly and unassumingly moving into the kitchen to start preparing some food. Naruto was a terrible cook, used to ANBU ration packs, eating out on missions and more survival-esque food preparation. They had agreed early on in their strange situation that it was in both their best interests that Haku prepare the food. So she did, beginning to prepare some rice as both pretended that what happened earlier… didn't.

However it couldn't last; there was a long five minute pause when Haku had to wait for some food to cook where an awkward silence settled over the apartment. Eventually, and surprisingly, it was Naruto who broke the uneasy quiet.

"I'm sorry." The moment he said it he turned on the couch so that he faced the backrest, muffling his words amongst the various squeaks and shuffles of the fabric. Haku actually started in her chair, her eyes going wide momentarily, however she made no outward move to respond, simply sitting there and blinking, convinced she must have heard him wrong but too apprehensive to ask. So once again silence settled over the two of them, once again to be broken by the blond as he shuffled on the couch again, this time so that he could face Haku, his eyes searching and narrowed.

"Why do you stay here?" He asked, this time with none of the fanfare and fidgeting to mask the question. Haku turned and regarded him for a moment, her expression genuinely lost as she floundered with the question in her head.

"I… I don't understand; if I were to leave you would-"

"Don't give me that." Naruto quickly cut her off, now glaring at her from his still lying position on the couch, although his head was now slightly raised. "You have ample opportunity to kill me if you so desired; you could escape any time you like." Again Haku seemed confused and unprepared for the sudden interrogation, her mouth working uselessly as she fiddled with the rice soon in her hand.

"You have proven that if I were to try then-"

"Shut up." Once again she was cut off mid-sentence as Naruto sat up, glaring with intensity now. "I'm not alert all the time; if you really wanted to kill me, then you could. So why do you stay?" It was true; as an ANBU one was supposed to be able to wake with only the smallest of changes in the surroundings, to prevent ambushes. However bad things happened to the psyche of a man who considered nowhere his home, who considered nowhere safe to sleep. Paranoia was expected of Shinobi, however somebody paranoid by Shinobi standards was a liability. There was also the small fact that in the throes of his nightmares Naruto was as likely to detect an intruder as he was to hear a tree fall on the other side of a forest.

"I…" Haku wavered a moment before apparently finding her resolve as her features set determinedly. She stood and, instead of answering, began to walk across the room, her fingers fumbling numbly with the ribbon binding her Kimono together. Finally it sloughed to the ground like some flowery shed-skin, leaving Haku completely naked save for the bandages that wrapped around her various cuts. The sight made Naruto wince ever so slightly, his eyes turning away for a reason even he could not understand.

However he was forced to look up as Haku gently took his hand, holding it in a grip so delicate it was a wonder he could even feel her fingers. Almost on instinct small chains burst from his wrist, hovering poised right over Haku's pale skin. The girl didn't flinch though, simply guiding Naruto's hand up until the very tips of his fingers were just tracing the flat of her stomach. Slowly, as Naruto forcefully retracted the shining Chakra constructs, she guided his hand up, between the valley of her growing chest, along the contours of her neck until finally she let it rest on her cheek.

At this point they were both looking at each other, icy blue eyes locked firmly on chocolate brown.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it? To see me?" She asked slowly, her own voice betraying her nerves with its slight warble. Naruto could see all of her right now, her being was laid bare like before; but this time it was because she wanted him to see. This was her choice. When she saw and felt no resistance from him she leaned in closer, delicately perching on the edge of the couch so that their faces were even closer. Naruto's hand still had not moved from her cheek; out of shock or because he was entranced by its smoothness would never be known.

"You are broken, a shattered being, fragmented and poorly pieced back together. You're missing vital pieces that leave puzzling holes in your heart." She leaned down even closer, shifting her body as to join him on the couch. She worked herself in until their bodies were flush, with his front pressed up against her back. "I am the same." Slowly she drew the hand on her cheek and pulled it over herself into some facsimile of a lovers' embrace. If she noticed the tens of chains that had slithered from the blonds body to hang poised over her vital spots she said nothing.

"I too am broken, shattered beyond repair, a tool with no purpose." She continued, laying her head down into the crook of Naruto's shoulder and staring listlessly across the room with a half-lidded gaze. "But maybe…" The chains twitched in agitation as Naruto fought his instincts over the invasion of his personal space. Nobody was allowed to be this close to him save for Nezumi. "…maybe we have enough pieces between us that we can be something." The previously twitching chains suddenly froze as Haku let out a small sigh, her eyes drifting shut slowly.

"Maybe, we can go some small way in fixing one another. I want to have meaning again, please let me find it, in fixing you… Naruto-sama." She finally finished with a small, fluttering breath before her breathing became regular and slow. It was only after a hesitant pause that the chains finally returned to Naruto, but he was not the same Naruto they had exited from. However any thoughts he had were de-railed by the clattering of a pot on the stove that was boiling over.

"The food is overheating." He growled, only to receive no answer as the girl that had somehow worked her way under his arm was asleep. With a semi-annoyed grunt a chain slithered from his back and pushed the pot off the stove, turning everything off. Deciding that thinking on this would be too much for him right now, when it was done and returned to his body Naruto simply decided to go to sleep as well. However not before a viciously amused smirk broke out over his features.

"Heh, enough pieces between us… that would mean I had any left at all."

However for the first night in over a week, Naruto managed to sleep without a single memory from Kushina breaking through.


End file.
